Rep. Joe Sestak

Party: Democrat
State: Pennsylvania - 7th District
Race results: Sestak won his bid for re-election in 2008 by an over 20 point margin.

Endorsed for U.S. Senate by Council for a Livable World

The Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania to be held on May 18 has been called "the No.1 intra-party battle" in the country. U.S. Representative and three-star Navy Admiral Joe Sestak is battling Republican-turned-Democrat Senator Arlen Specter for the Democratic Party nomination.

Sestak has been running an insurgent "outsider campaign" in an "anti-incumbent/anti-insider" election year cycle against a 30-year incumbent who epitomizes the DC insider. Specter switched parties last year to hold onto his job because his internal polling showed he could not beat conservative Republican Pat Toomey in the GOP primary.

Sestak can win this race: The Rothenberg Political Report, The Cook Report, and Congressional Quarterly -- have all down-graded Specter’s chances for re-election to "toss-up," with Congressional Quarterly going further in stating "and that’s being generous to Specter."

Only 25% of Pennsylvanians now believe Specter deserves to be re-elected, and 63% think its time for a change.
Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer reported that "Specter has an 80% chance of losing his Senate seat."

The LA Times now calls Arlen’s odds of re- election “daunting,” while the New York Times is reporting that Specter “is wheezing in the face of a strong primary challenge from the left {Sestak]” Two of Pennsylvania’s major newspapers have already called for Arlen to exit, stating that Sestak’s “time is now”:

“Arlen Specter...isn’t the future of the Democratic Party – but his May primary opponent, the relentless U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, is.” — Pittsburgh Tribune

“You don’t encounter people like this every day. When you do, you have to seize the moment... Congressman Joe Sestak...his heart is emblazoned on his sleeve. Beyond the issues, there is a refreshing sincerity...Sestak is fully immersed in many of the other vital issues of the day, deftly bobbing and weaving through facts and figures like a heavyweight boxer ready for a shot at the title...It is clear that Specter...has become yesterday’s news.... He needs to exit...his time has come and gone. And Joe Sestak’s time is now.” — Times Herald.

Despite spending $2 million dollars last year, Specter has not increased his support; indeed, his re-election numbers have fallen, while Sestak has gained. Sestak will win this race if he can continue to fuel his climb in the polls. This is a classic race of David against Goliath.

At the end of December, Specter had $8.7 million in his campaign treasury, compared to $5.1 million for Sestak, while Toomey, the presumptive Republican nominee, trailed with $2.8 million. Sestak is the best-funded challenger in the country. He has harbored his resources, and actually closed the fundraising gap with Specter last quarter as momentum shifted to Sestak, and the political winds were at his back.

Washington insiders knew that Sestak was formidable and capable of beating Specter. It was recently disclosed that they even suggested a federal job to Sestak to get him off the ballot, but Sestak hung tough and positioned himself as the principled outsider.

Sestak is known as a tenacious campaign. His efforts are legendary. Since the start of the year, Sestak has held over 360 campaign events in all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties and is drawing enthusiastic crowds.

Specter voted just 20% of the time with Democrats during the Bush presidency, giving George W. Bush over 2,000 votes in solidarity with conservatives, and voting 95% of the time with Republicans in other GOP Administrations.

Specter supported President Bush’s decision to launch the war in Iraq and opposed multiple amendments for withdrawal of American troops from that war. He voted for funds to build new nuclear weapons and expand missile defense. He supported the nomination of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations. Specter averaged a dismal 9% over the past eight years on the Council for a Livable World’s scorecard of key national security issues. His voting record has improved since becoming a Democrat.

Representative Sestak was born and raised in the Congressional District he now represents. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and later earned a Masters in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University.

During his distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, Sestak attained the rank of three-star Admiral and served in the White House, Pentagon, and in operational commands at sea. He served as President Clinton’s Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council, oversaw the Navy’s warfare budget as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors/marines/SEALs) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

After retiring from the Navy, he returned home to Delaware County, Pennsylvania. In 2006 Sestak ran for the U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, challenging an entrenched Republican incumbent, Representative Curt Weldon, one of Star Wars’ foremost advocates in Congress. Sestak made bringing our troops home from Iraq the centerpiece of his campaign, and won with a solid 56% of the vote (becoming only the 2nd Democrat to hold that seat since the Civil War).

In 2008, Republicans recruited a strong candidate, but Sestak easily prevailed with 60% of the vote. Council for a Livable World’s PeacePAC endorsed Sestak in both of his Congressional campaigns.

Sestak favors a progressive policy of engagement in reducing the dangers of nuclear weapons. In his first two years in office, he earned a two-year average of 76% on the Council voting record. Through two terms in Congress, he has been active on ending the war in Iraq and opposing expensive and ineffective missile defense systems.

The Pennsylvania Democratic primary will be hard-fought. Sestak is running an inspiring insurgent campaign. While Specter is backed by the Democratic establishment, Sestak’s support is in the grassroots and net-roots communities. A tireless, passionate campaigner, Sestak is capable of overcoming the odds. If elected, Admiral Joe Sestak will be an important Senate leader on national security issues.

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