Specter lost his primary in 2010.
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.)
- District: Senior Senator from Pennsylvania
- Residence: Philadelphia
- Born: February 12, 1930; Wichita, Kan.
- Religion: Jewish
- Family: Wife, Joan Specter; two children
- Education: U. of Pennsylvania, B.A. 1951 (international relations); Yale U., LL.B. 1956
- Military Service: Air Force 1951-53
- Political Highlights: Philadelphia district attorney, 1966-74; Republican nominee for mayor of Philadelphia, 1967; defeated for re-election as Philadelphia district attorney, 1973; sought Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, 1976; sought Republican nomination for governor, 1978; U.S. Senate, 1981-2011
- Elected: Elected: 1980 (5th term)
- Committee Assignments: Appropriations (Agriculture; Defense; Homeland Security; Labor-HHS-Education; State-Foreign Operations; Transportation-HUD); Environment & Public Works (Children's Health; Superfund, Toxics & Environmental Health; Transportation & Infrastructure); Judiciary (Antitrust, Competition Policy & Consumer Rights; Constitution; Crime & Drugs - Chairman; Human Rights & the Law); Veterans' Affairs; Special Aging
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State Information: Pennsylvania
Election History
| Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| 2010 | general | Patrick Toomey (R) | 2,028,945 | 51% |
| Joe Sestak (D) | 1,948,716 | 49% |
| 2004 | general | Arlen Specter (R) | 2,925,080 | 52.6% |
| Joseph Hoeffel (D) | 2,334,126 | 42% |
| James Clymer (CNSTP) | 220,056 | 4% |
| Betsy Summers (LIBERT) | 79,263 | 1.4% |
| 1998 | general | Arlen Specter (R) | 1,814,180 | 61.3% |
| Bill Lloyd (D) | 1,028,839 | 34.8% |
| Dean Snyder (CONSTL) | 68,377 | 2.3% |
| Jack Iannantuono (LIBERT) | 46,103 | 1.6% |
| 1992 | general | Arlen Specter (R) | 2,358,125 | 49.1% |
| Lynn Yeakel (D) | 2,224,966 | 46.3% |
| John F. Perry III (LIBERT) | 219,319 | 4.6% |
| 1986 | general | Arlen Specter (R) | 1,906,537 | 56.4% |
| Robert Edgar (D) | 1,448,219 | 42.9% |
| 1980 | general | Arlen Specter (R) | 2,230,404 | 50.5% |
| Peter Flaherty (D) | 2,122,391 | 48% |
| Linda Mohrbacher (SW) | 27,229 | 0.6% |
| David K. Walter (LIBERT) | 18,595 | 0.4% |
| Lee Frissell (CON) | 16,089 | 0.4% |
| Frank Kinces (COM) | 3,334 | 0.1% |
Vote For President
| Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
| 2008 | Barack Obama: 54.65% | John McCain: 44.3% | |
| 2004 | John Kerry: 51% | George W. Bush: 48% | |
| 2000 | Al Gore: 51% | George W. Bush: 46% | |
| 1996 | Bill Clinton: 49% | Robert Dole: 40% | |
| 1992 | Bill Clinton: 45% | George H. W. Bush: 36% | |
| 1988 | Michael Dukakis: 48% | George H. W. Bush: 51% | |
| 1984 | Walter F. Mondale: 46% | : | |
- The World According to Arlen
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- Pennsylvania: Pat Toomey Endorses Mitt Romney
- Rick Santorum’s Senate Record Comes Under More Scrutiny
- Arlen's Big Week
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- Indiana: Dick Lugar's Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
- Rick Santorum: Support for Arlen Specter’s Bid was ‘a Mistake’
- Harry Reid: No Deals With Bob Kerrey
- For the GOP, It's Back to the Future
- Jim DeMint In Line for Commerce Chairman
- No Room for GOP Moderates
- Former Sen. Bob Kerrey’s Seniority In Debate
- Pennsylvania: Tim Murphy's Campaign Poll Shows Wide Primary Lead
- D.C. Supporters Look to Boost Rick Santorum
- Nevada, Massachusetts Key to Senate Control
- Philanthropy Rewarded With Bowling Food
- HOH’s One-Minute Recess: Specter of Depth
- Uneven as a Senator, Santorum Not Perceived as Presidential
- A Flood of Jewish GOP Candidates
- Bill Would Televise Supreme Court Hearings
- Senators Stick by 2009 Stimulus
- Netroots Uses Elizabeth Warren to Boost Online Auction
- Senators Stay Put in Hideaways
- Heard on the Hill: Leading the Tech Pack
- Heard on the Hill: Motormouth Hall of Fame
- For Some in Senate, Losing Once Is Way to Win
- When Politicians Turn to Shakespeare
- Vulnerable Democrats Shore Up Cash in First Quarter
- The Uneven Senate Landscape of 2012 (and 2014)
- Sestak Ad Among Hundreds of Pollie Winners
- NRSC Plan Gets Freshmen Involved
- Santorum Talks About Longtime Google Problem
- Santorum Talks Low, Aims High
- Reports Offer First 2012 Glimpse
- Ethics Office Opened No New Cases in Last Half of 2010
- Hideaways — the Senate’s Hottest Real Estate
- Specter: ‘Court Has Been Eating Congress’ Lunch’
- Test Vote on START Likely Tuesday
- Raben: How to Deal With GOP House Oversight
- Swing States Prepare for 2012, Redistricting
- Biden Expands Job Profile
- Lugar Warns He Will Be Ready for a Primary Challenge
- Experienced Hands Harder to Find in Senate
- Cornyn: Results Prove Electability Matters
