RNC chair sends warning shot to Specter

The new Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele has suggested the party establishment might not necessarily back the three Republicans who voted for the President's stimulus package. That includes Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, who's up for re-election in 2010, after more than 25 years in office. WHYY's Elizabeth Fiedler reports.

Transcript:
Political consultant Elliot Curson says he doubts the Republican heirarchy would run a candidate against Specter in the primary — because they'd risk losing the general election to the Democrats.  Curson worked for Specter in past races and says he's confident the five-term senator would win even if he didn't have RNC support.

Curson: "The RNC would make be cutting off their nose to spite their face.  Arlen's powerful, he's tough, he has a lot of seniority. If he doesn't get funds from them he'll get it other places.  I'm sure a lot of Democrats will switch over and vote for Arlen."

Political consultant Neil Oxman says support from the RNC wouldn't hurt Specter.  But Oxman says the veteran lawmaker's re-election campaign will rely much more heavily on support from the Republican Senatorial Committee and state Republican party.

More information:
Y-Decide: Remember when Arlen Specter was a Democrat?

Y-Decide: Trouble for Specter from his own party?

Listen:
Click on the play button below or right click on this link and choose "Save Link As" to download.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.