Rendell on Sestak's Chances for Primary Win

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is declaring Congressman Joe Sestak’s primary challenge against Senator Arlen Specter a lost cause.
Last year, Rendell said Sestak would “get killed” if he challenged Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania’s primary.
During an interview in his Capitol office, Rendell said he’s sticking by that statement. Rendell, who endorsed Specter immediately after the Senator switched parties last year, says Sestak is a solid congressman, but he can’t match Specter’s decades-long track record.

"But he has, in my judgment, no chance to win. In the time that has elapsed he hasn’t done anything to narrow the lead. In fact, the lead has actually increased. And I just don’t think he has enough money, vs. his opponent, to make a dent in a lead that big."


Rendell says that’s mostly because Specter has steered federal funding and projects to Pennsylvania’s 67 counties for three decades.

"So I think Senator Specter has done so much for the state, has worked so hard, has been so many places, that he’s created those type of relationships. If Democrats voted for him when he was a Republican, it’s a whole lot easier for them to vote for him now when he’s a Democrat and a staunch supporter for the president – and in turn, the president’s a staunch supporter of his."

Sestak insists most Pennsylvanians haven’t tuned into the race yet, and momentum will shift his way when his campaign starts running television ads.