A new poll in Pennsylvania's Senate race shows Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter now leads conservative Pat Toomey, the Republican challenger who drove Specter out of the GOP last April.
The Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday reflects a significant change in a hypothetical general-election matchup that had been tied since last summer.
The survey shows the fifth-term Specter leading Toomey 49 percent to 42 percent.
It also says Specter maintains a decisive lead over Rep. Joe Sestak in the May 18 Democratic primary.
Toomey nearly beat Specter in the 2004 GOP primary and is considered the front-runner for the nomination this year.
The telephone poll of 1,452 Pennsylvanians was conducted during the week that ended Sunday. The sampling error margin is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
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