Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Grade) Loses in Pennsylvania Primary

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) has served in the Senate for nearly 30 years, but the five-term incumbent lost his primary bid for a sixth term on Tuesday. Sen. Specter has a career D-grade over the last two Congresses and holds a D or worse in every category graded by NumbersUSA except for one.

Sen. Specter received only 46% of the vote, losing to Rep. Joe Sestak who will face Pat Toomey in the general election. Rep. Sestak’s grade isn’t much better with a recent grade of a D+.

Sen. Specter is the second long-time incumbent to lose his primary bid. Utah Senator Michael Bennett failed to receive the required votes at the Utah Republican Convention, preventing him from running in the primary next month. Sen. Bennett has a grade of a C-.

For more reaction to Tuesday’s primaries, read Roy’s blog.