President Barack Obama made a stop in Philadelphia yesterday for a fundraiser to support Sen. Arlen Specter (D- Pa).
Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the cocktail reception and dinner were hosted by Pennsylvania Senate Victory 2010 - a joint group of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Citizens for Arlen Specter.
"Arlen is not someone who came to Washington to fight for a particular ideology," Obama said. "He came to fight for the working men and women of Pennsylvania. And he has a long and successful record of doing just that."
The goal of the event was to raise $2.5 million, with each ticket to the cocktail reception requiring a contribution of at least $2,400. Approximately 500 people attended the event.
Those who donated $10,000 or raised $50,000 - a total of about 250 people - attended a dinner and photo session with Obama.
"It's great to have him as a president. It's great to have him as a friend," Specter said of Obama. "And it's perhaps greatest to have him as a fundraiser."
The event was Obama's first visit to Philadelphia since he was inaugurated in January.
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Sens. Robert Menendez (D- N.J.) and Bob Casey (D- Pa.) were also in attendance.
"We need to send a message to this country that we are serious about Arlen Specter," Nutter said.
Specter, who will be up for reelection next year, switched his political affiliation from Republican to Democrat this spring.
"Arlen thought it was more important to answer to the people who sent him to Washington rather than his party," Obama said. "He was a great Senator when he was a Republican and he is going to be an even greater Senator now that he is a Democrat."
A Franklin and Marshall College Poll released on September 3 found that 35 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania rate Specter's performance as good or excellent and 34 percent believe he deserves reelection.
The poll also found that he leads his Democratic opponent Rep. Joe Sestak 37 percent to 11 percent in the primary and leads his Republican challenger Rep. Pat Toomey 37 percent to 29 percent in the general election.
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