Toomey Surges Over Specter in Poll as Fundraising Shows Strong Fourth Quarter Draw

A new poll out of Pennsylvania shows former Republican Rep. Pat Toomey leading Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter by 14 points in a general election match-up, one indicator of the fundraising prowess that Toomey revealed Wednesday.

Toomey campaign officials told Fox News they raised $1.67 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, giving them a total of $4.9 million raised for the year. The Toomey campaign had $2.8 million in cash on hand going into 2010.

"Contributors and volunteers are joining the Toomey campaign by the tens of thousands because they agree with Pat's message of limited government, fiscal responsibility and economic growth," said Toomey Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik.

Toomey's fundraising numbers rival some of the best figures coming out of the national political landscape for last quarter.

Specter campaign officials declined to pass along fundraising numbers, saying the report is still being finalized. Specter, who's been on Capitol Hill for 30 years, switched parties last year, citing difficulties in winning the Republican primary as one of the reasons for his decision.

He now finds himself fighting on both flanks -- facing a Democratic primary against Rep. Joe Sestak and a strong GOP challenge from Toomey, who leads the field of Republican contenders for the nomination.

Toomey's fundraising figures come as a Franklin and Marshall College survey released on Wednesday shows 45 percent of likely voters support Toomey, while 31 percent support Specter and another 20 percent are  undecided. The poll has Specter and Toomey deadlocked at 30 percent when all registered voters, a less reliable voting bloc, are included in the survey. Nearly a third are undecided in that group.

Specter campaign officials said they don't put a lot of stock in the Franklin and Marshall poll, saying, "it's a long way until November."

The same poll shows Specter leading Sestak 30 percent to 13 percent. Specter is expected to receive the endorsement of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party in early February.

The poll of 1,165 people, conducted from Jan. 18-24, has a margin of error of 2.9 percent