Forget about that Republican past, I am the well-connected statesman who has delivered for Pennsylvania (whatever my party) and I’ll keep doing so.

From The New York Times:

There has been nothing subtle about Mr. Specter’s message in his “Delivering for Pennsylvania” tour leading up to Tuesday’s primary: Forget about that Republican past, I am the well-connected statesman who has delivered for Pennsylvania (whatever my party) and I’ll keep doing so.

Only a month ago, Mr. Specter, 80, was considered a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination. He only switched to the Democratic Party a year ago, but he has the backing of President Obama, Gov. Edward G. Rendell, local union leaders and much of the black clergy.

But he has been wounded by an upstart challenger’s blitz of television advertisements calling Mr. Specter an opportunist and questioning the depth of his newfound liberalism. Pollsters say the race is too close to call and may depend on turnout: a larger number of African-American and other primary voters is likely to favor Mr. Specter.