WASHINGTON (CNN) - Arlen Specter, the longtime Republican senator who switched parties Tuesday, admitted Wednesday the move was driven partly by a desire to keep his seat.
The senator, who has represented Pennsylvania in the upper chamber since 1980, said he was "anxious" to stay in the Senate - and he did not want to face a Republican primary in order to keep his seat next year.
"I was unwilling to subject my 29-year record in the U.S. Senate to the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate," he said. "But I am pleased to run in the primary on the Democratic ticket and am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers in the general election."
Polls suggested Specter would face a stiff primary challenge from Rep. Pat Toomey, who falls to his right on the political spectrum. Toomey nearly defeated Specter in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary in 2004.
Specter vowed not to be an "automatic 60th" Democratic vote Wednesday.
President Barack Obama said he was "thrilled" to have the Pennsylvania senator join the Democrats.
Obama, who served four years in the Senate with Specter, consistently referred to his former colleague as "Arlen," calling him "one tough hombre."
Specter, appearing with the president and Vice-President Joe Biden in a news conference, said he was "very comfortable" with Obama's administration.
Specter's move puts the Democrats one shy of a rare filibuster-proof Senate majority of 60 seats.
Senate Democrats can now reach the 60-seat mark if Al Franken holds his current lead in the disputed Minnesota Senate race.
"As the Republican Party has moved farther and farther to the right, I have found myself increasingly at odds with the Republican philosophy and more in line with the philosophy of the Democratic Party," Specter said in announcing his decision Tuesday.
He said he made the final decision to switch parties and end a 44-year affiliation with the GOP after consulting with his campaign advisers and family over the weekend.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed Tuesday that the president intends to actively campaign for Specter's re-election if asked to do so.
Jubilant Senate Democrats also welcomed the news.
"Sen. Specter and I have had a long dialogue about his place in an evolving Republican party," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said in a written statement.
"We have not always agreed on every issue, but (he) has shown a willingness to work in a bipartisan manner, put people over party, and do what is right for Pennsylvanians and all Americans."
Reid called Specter a "man of honor and integrity" who would be welcome in the Democratic caucus.
One key Senate Democrat, however, warned that reaching the 60-vote mark would not automatically ensure a Democratic victory on every major issue.
"It's great news," North Dakota Sen. Kent Conrad said. But it means "a lot less" than some people think.
"The Democratic caucus is not homogenous. (There is a) lot of disagreement in the Democratic caucus, so this idea that it's some great watershed event ... I don't think so."
Neither party has had a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate since the 95th Congress, from 1977 to 1979. The Democrats controlled 62 seats during the first two years of the Carter presidency.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele ripped Specter, calling him a Republican in name only who was out of step with the rest of the party because of his "left-wing voting record."
"Some in the Republican Party are happy about this. I am not," Steele said in a written statement. "Let's be honest – Sen. Specter didn't leave the GOP based on principles of any kind. He left to further his personal political interests because he knew that he was going to lose a Republican primary due to his left-wing voting record."
Steele said that Republicans "look forward to beating Sen. Specter in 2010, assuming the Democrats don't do it first."
A significant number of leading Republicans grew angry with Specter in recent weeks over his vote in support of Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan.
"When the stimulus package came up for a vote, I felt that it was indispensable to vote aye in order to avoid the possibility of a 1929-type depression," Specter said Tuesday. He said that the vote highlighted a "schism" and an "irreconcilable conflict" between himself and the bulk of the GOP.
Specter, one of only three GOP senators to vote for the measure, has been part of a dwindling group of Republican moderates from the northeastern part of the country.
The 79-year-old Kansas native and former Philadelphia district attorney has been a leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee for much of the past two decades, serving as its chairman from 2005 to 2007.
Specter has been a defender of abortion rights in an overwhelmingly anti-abortion party and opposed Reagan's controversial nomination of Robert Bork to a Supreme Court seat in 1987. But he drew criticism from many women for his aggressive questioning of law professor Anita Hill, who accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment during Thomas' 1991 confirmation hearings.
Specter served on the Warren Commission that investigated the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, helping develop the so-called single bullet theory that Kennedy and Texas Gov. John Connally were hit by the same slug.
He has survived bouts with cancer three times, most recently undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease in 2005.
–CNN's Alan Silverleib and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
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Well, of course Senator Spector's changing of parties is about remaining in the senate, but as he pointed out, there was a number of moderate republicans in Pennsylvania who changed to the Democratic party during the 2008 election. The remaining members of the Pennsylvania republicans are more conservative and Senator Spector's views, being more moderate, no longer are consistent with their views. Why should this minority viewpoint in Pennsylvania decide who runs for election to represent us in the senate?
I no longer live in Pennsylvania, but have many friends and relatives there. The consensus is that Specter would have lost in the GOP primary to Pat Toomey, who would have been easily crushed by the Democratic candidate in the general election.
P.A is, at least for the time being, a strong “blue” state. As evidence of this, examine the GOP’s ongoing and unsuccessful efforts to unseat John Murtha.
Specter brings some fiscally conservative balance to a party that seems to need more of this “level headedness”
I for one, welcome this.
just another self serving politician
not a repub or dem myself but i do understand the value of a strong opposition party. i was really hoping that the dems wouldnt get to 60.
that roth ira is looking like a better idea every day...
As the hard-core conservatives in the GOP push out the moderates, they will make the party more unified and ideologically pure. It will also become smaller, weaker, and less relevant. 2010 could be even more traumatic than '08 for what's left of the Republican Party.
I find it interesting that the name callers like to call Arlen Specter a coward. So be it. This coward is going to win the next election and be Senator for another 6 years! A shrewd move for a coward. Will that be enough crow for the GOP to eat?
Republicans like to trumpet about 'standing on principle.' They take it to the extreme. My way or the highway. Our country was set up to be governed based on compromise. Little kids cry and whine and throw tantrums when they don't get their way. Which party sounds like the bratty kid no one can stand? This is why Arlen Specter joined the Democrats.
Senator Specter is a great Senator and because of his one vote for the stimulus bill, they abandoned him. Toomey ran last election for Senator, and was beaten by Specter because Toomey is a right wing religious fanatic, and Pennsylvania had enough with Santorum. Toomey will never hold office in Pennsylvania unless the republicans spike the water for the whole state.
this is a hijacking of democracy. now what happens to those democrats who wanted to run for the democratic primary that obama and biden have declared his the one? PA voters, vote anyone in but Spector!!!! please. He was going to lose, let him lose!!
WOW!!! Not the best reason!
At least he is honest!
Welcome to the "right"...or "left"...party!!
To all of you ranting and raving Republicans:There is a saying which I believe covers this situation quite nicely. I'm certain you remember when the Supreme Court "appointed the "cowboy" to the Whitehouse in 2000. Remember?
"GET OVER IT"
To all of you who are too stupid to think this through, I'll try and lay it out so you can understand.
Senator Specter has always been his own man. He became a Republican in 65 because he identified with the party ideology at that time, and because that is what his constituents were then. He could only serve those constituents if he were elected, so obviously, he became a Republican.
Since the early part of this century, the Republican party has moved considerably right. It has become something that Mr. Specter does not represent. Furthermore, his constituents have moved away from the Republican party, as has most of the nation. (21% now identify themselves as Republican) Therefore, he has moved back to the center along with the people he represents.
Now, move on.
We need more of that in Washington honesty.
...I love the title of this article its hilarious....
"Specter admits party switch driven by desire to keep seat"
So basically what the man is saying is that he doesn't feel confident that he can get reelected while a Republican – A little bit of common sense here people keep up with me. If THE PEOPLE HE REPRESENTS wouldn't want to support him any longer because of his party status, doesn't that naturally mean that the people he represents are no longer/not republicans. SOOO really the man is being attacked for actually REPRESENTING HIS PEOPLE as he was elected to. Last time I checked we call them representatives for a reason. Thank God some politicians actually have the guts to do the job we pay them for.
When Richard Shelby switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in 1994 he was hailed as a hero and a man of honor coming over to the Side of Right by Gingrich, etc. Funny how that never works in reverse. The Republicans–the party of secession and other extremes–are irrelevant.
Frankly, I think the Dems could use more moderates like Specter.
The Republicans really have become a narrow party, with unflinching loyalty to unrealistic religiously-based policies.
Even though there are many in the Democratic party who support far-left ideals, I believe the Democratic party is now made up of more moderate representatives than ever before.
If the Republicans won't make room for moderates in their party, then those folks will find themselves completely welcome in the diversity of the Democratic party. At least Specter will now feel free to voice his positions without backlash from his party!
It appears to me that he was just for sale. It's time that the people of this country stop electing politicians that are so easily bought.
This lowers my opinion of him. Basically he is saying he will do whatever it takes to get elected.
Spector is a spineless worm – always has been, always will be. He wouldn't know a principled stand if it fell on him. The Dems are welcome to him.
I am a Republican, and will still vote, every time, for a strong national defense, a free market, lower taxes, domestic safety, good schools and small government. In other words, this Republican is alive and well – not disintegrating or imploding in any way.
Arlen Spector wasn't never the heart of the Republican Party – he was more like a festering boil that finally burst. We're better off without him.
This just exemplifies the sad state of affairs in our country's election system. The primary system does nothing but amplify the far-left and far-right voters' influence at the expense of the moderates. I see nothing wrong in what Specter did and applaud his honesty.
As an Independant, I have no "loyalty" to any party.
Still, just like the vast majority in this country, I have grown tired of the absurdity and reality-denial of the Republicans.
As such, I am really tickled by the steady crumble of the Republican party. Their arrogance of the past years has really been disgusting.
Thank you, Mr. Specter, for your honesty. Republican or Democrat, it's the quality that I have always respected most about you. Best of luck!
Yeah, I am unhappy with this. Using democrrats to keep his seat? Hmmm. I will find it rather hard to support this guy.
And yes, I am a democrat. Unlike many folk who post BS, I have been consistent. But in truth, I'm more indy than anything these days.
it is absolutely impossible for anyone of us Americans to be 100% anything........insurgents didn't ask us what party we were before they tried to kill us.......look in your dictionaries and look up the definitions of Republican, Democrat, concervative, liberal and American, then choose your side. We are allowing our leaders (those voted for or listened to) to control us with this crap. Country first! Essayons!
Doing things just to keep your seat???
Duh... Arlen we've know that for years already....
Only problem is we get such "great" choices from the GOP like Toomey or Rick Santorum. Neither one has/had a clue that it's OK for people to have different opinions than theirs.
Was hoping for a good Dem. choice this time and now ypu'll probably screw THAT up.....
Thanks to Co-Chairman Steele & Rush Limbaugh of the Republican Party , more go things will be happing to the Democratic Party. Thanks again