Pennsylvania Progressive Sestak Makes a Final Push to Beat Arlen Specter in Primary Election

For nearly five years Joe Sestak has worn the same bracelet on his arm; it's a colorful string of plastic beads that hangs slack around his left wrist, standing out against the subdued shirts and conservative ties he's otherwise partial to. But for the two-term congressman -- who on May 18 faces Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate -- the bracelet may as well be the most important piece of his wardrobe.

It was given to him in 2005 by his daughter, Alex, who fashioned it just before undergoing diagnostic surgery on a tumor that had developed in her brain. Hours later, the prognosis wasn't good; diagnosed with cancer, the four-year-old was given just three to nine months to live.

Three surgeries and a regimen of chemotherapy later, Alex is today a healthy eight-year-old in remission. Sestak, a retired Vice Admiral in the U.S. Navy, credits the top-notch medical care she received under the military's TRICARE health plan with saving her life. And he credits the experience with where he is today.

“That's what got me into politics,” Sestak is fond of sharing. “When my daughter got brain cancer, she got the best health care possible under my military benefits. I want to see all Americans be able to have that quality of health care.”

In a month Pennsylvania Democrats will decide if Sestak gets the chance to face off against Republican Pat Toomey (who has no significant GOP challenger) for the Senate seat long held by Specter.

The choice between Sestak and Specter pits a dedicated progressive with little Washington experience against a five-term incumbent whose tenure as a centrist Republican ended barely a year ago when he switched parties in a politically motivated move to keep his Senate seat.

Sestak holds the distinction of being the highest-ranking military veteran ever elected to Congress. He’s also a favorite among progressives and in the current Congress voted with his party 98.3 percent of the time. His loyalty notwithstanding, in his run for Senate, Sestak has been all but abandoned by the Democrats.

Despite his serving decades in the GOP, after switching parties in April 2009, Specter has -- in a very short time -- managed to ingratiate himself with the Democratic establishment. He’s got the support of President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and most of the Senate Democrats, not to mention the state party leadership in Pennsylvania.

At 58, Sestak has never been one to shy away from uphill battles, and he's not about to start now. It doesn't matter that polls show him trailing Specter by 20 points, because, Sestak will tell you, he has faith in Pennsylvania voters. “We’re an independent bunch,” he likes to say.

“Voters want some they can trust, maybe not always agree with, but someone who is there for core beliefs, conviction, not just to keep their job,” Sestak said. “We’re not Rendell-ites, we’re not Biden-ites, we’re Democrats who believe in core principals and [Specter] doesn’t have that belief in core principals.”

Sestak's brother and campaign manager Rich says the campaign is preparing for a last minute push that he is confident will pay off. “Once people get to know who Joe is, we know they'll vote for him," he said.

And that's the key right there, because among Democratic voters who know both candidates, Sestak consistently polls equal to or better than Specter. That’s little consolation for a candidate that polls show is known to less than 40 percent of his party’s electorate.

But Sestak is nothing if not tireless. Last Sunday (4/18), he officially launched his endgame, rallying hundreds of supporters across Pennsylvania who spent the day making phone calls and canvassing registered Democrats. While he’s elicited strong grassroots support on the state level, political analyst Terry Madonna, of Franklin & Marshall College, would like to know what happened to the progressive message machine that was so instrumental in getting Obama elected.