Pat Toomey ran a valiant campaign, and came agonizingly close to unseating liberal Republican senator Arlen Specter.

* Pat Toomey ran a valiant campaign, and came agonizingly close to unseating liberal Republican senator Arlen Specter. But he was unable to overcome the efforts of the White House, Rick Santorum, and the rest of the Republican establishment to keep Specter in the Senate. The Republicans thought that Specter was a better bet for holding the seat in November. We continue to believe that Toomey could have won, that the Republicans are likely to keep control of the Senate, and that Specter's contributions to the Republican majority are negative. Specter will now, in all likelihood, have seven more years in office. He will probably become chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and he will no longer need to worry about the sentiments of Pennsylvania Republicans. When Specter torpedos conservative nominees to the Supreme Court, we will know whom to thank.