NARAL Endorses Rep. Sestak In Close Primary Against Sen. Specter

NARAL Pro-Choice America on Wednesday endorsed Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak over five-term incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary, which is "too close to call" ahead of Tuesday's vote, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Specter, who switched from Republican to Democratic in 2009 after he voted for President Obama's economic stimulus package, touted his support for abortion rights in previous campaigns (Levy, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/12). However, NARAL officials noted that Specter supported President George W. Bush's two Supreme Court nominees -- Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito -- while he was a Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee (Becker, "The Caucus," New York Times, 5/12). Elizabeth Shipp, NARAL's political director, said the "court is more hostile to reproductive rights because of those two, and we have Arlen Specter to thank for it."

Shipp added that Sestak's voting record on abortion-rights issues during his two terms in the House makes clear his support for abortion rights. She said that Specter tends to vote for abortion rights when it is convenient, not because of his convictions (Levy, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/12).

NARAL President Nancy Keenan said, "Many Pennsylvanians are under the impression that Arlen Specter might be a reliable pro-choice voice, but his record says otherwise." She added that Sestak is "a strong voice for women's freedom and privacy."

According to Politico, NARAL's political action committee will donate $5,000 to Sestak's campaign and mobilize its supporters on his behalf (Taylor, Politico, 5/12). Group officials said they have sent e-mail messages to their 250,000 Pennsylvania members to encourage support for Sestak (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/12).

In response to the endorsement, Specter's campaign released a statement from longtime Pennsylvania abortion-rights advocate Morgan Plant, who supports Specter. Plant said, "With all the threats to choice which still abound, it seems foolish to me to expend pro-choice resources against Specter." She added that "as a strongly pro-choice woman," she "still trust[s] Sen. Specter to preserve and protect a woman's right to choose" ("The Caucus," New York Times, 5/12).

According to the AP/Inquirer, Sestak received perfect scores from NARAL on his abortion-rights voting record in 2007 and 2009, the only two years he was scored. Specter's received perfect scores in 2007 and 2008, and a score of 90% in 2009. However, he received a 21% in 2003, a zero in 2004 and a 20% in 2005.

Polls Shows Close Race

Meanwhile, a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed that Sestak has nearly closed the 21-point lead Specter held in an April 8 poll. The new poll -- a telephone survey of 945 likely primary voters -- found that 44% of respondents supported Specter, 42% supported Sestak and 14% were undecided. The survey was conducted May 5 through May 10 and had a sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Sestak received a boost from "a wave of anti-incumbent sentiment" and a television ad linking Specter with Bush. Specter, meanwhile, has the support of the White House and on Tuesday launched a new TV ad featuring the president (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/12).


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