Pat Toomey

NEW STANTON -- It's the question everyone has been asking about Pat Toomey.

With a governor and U.S. Senate race on the ballot, what's the former Lehigh Valley congressman going to do in 2010?

"No decisions have been made," Toomey told PolitickerPA.com. "I'm going to wait until after the election before I seriously think about it and make a decision."

Is he leaning any direction?

"Not at this point," he said.

NEW STANTON -- When you're close to toppling a 34-year incumbent Democratic congressman, Republican big-wigs begin to take notice.

On Sunday, it was former congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey who formally endorsed Republican Bill Russell and attended his mid-day campaign event here. His endorsement comes a week after former Arkansas Governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee threw his support behind Russell.

Toomey didn't speak at the rally but talked privately with Russell afterward, urging him to do what many thought was impossible a month ago.

Russell is challenging U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-Johnstown) in the 12th Congressional District. His campaign became a ray of hope for Republicans in an otherwise bleak climate nationwide after poll number showed him within 5 points of Murtha.

Toomey told PolitickerPA.com he, like even most in Russell's own campaign, didn't think the first-time politician had a chance against Murtha, a western Pennsylvanian institution. He was still doubtful four months ago and still had reservations as recently as September.

"But today it looks like he's going to win," Toomey said.

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter: Getty Images PhotoST. PAUL, MINN. -- U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Philadelphia) said Tuesday that he expects an opponent in the primary when he runs for re-election in 2010.

"I do," he told reporters while seated in a cafe in the downtown Crowne Plaza Hotel. "I think I'll have an opponent in the primary, and I think I'll have an opponent in the general."

The longtime senator did not seem concerned about a potential challenge. He quoted a line from pitching great Satchel Paige that he said describes his election philosophy.

"Never look back -- somebody may be gaining," he said.

This article is by Dan Hirschhorn in Philadelphia and Alex Roarty in Harrisburg.

Even while they insist their energies are fully focused on electing their prospective party's nominees for president, members of the state's political establishment are quietly eyeing the next big elections in Pennsylvania: the race for governor and the race for senator in 2010.

With a bevy of political insiders set to convene over the next two weeks for their annual political conventions-Democrats in Denver next week and Republicans in St. Paul the following week-it's certain that prospective candidates for the two offices will be putting out feelers for support, though they'll be doing so quietly.

Prospective candidates for both offices will be present at both conventions, and though they assured PolitickerPa.com they were more focused on November's presidential election, most acknowledged it would be nice to have a who's who of state politicians in one room.

"I would say that next week in Denver I'll spend a lot of time talking to other ... Democrats from across the state about intentions and gauging their reaction and support," said Don Cunningham, the Lehigh County Executive who is considering a run for the Democratic nomination to succeed Gov. Ed Rendell.

"I'm not hosting any formal receptions or anything like that," Cunningham was quick to add. "I'm just going to be an active, regular part of the delegation. I know a lot of folks already, and I'm hoping to get to know more."

Gov. Ed RendellPennsylvanians won't cast their general election ballots for the next governor for more than two years. But with attention squarely focused on this year's presidential race, a large field of potential contenders are already lining up, each one sizing up his chances to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

It's a surprisingly crowded field for how far away the election is, a field political watchers and analysts describe as impressive on both sides of the aisle. And with neither an incumbent nor a state household name in yet in play, most are forecasting a race that will be difficult to predict, one in which almost anyone could come out on top.

"It's an election that could go any way at the moment," said G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. "I don't see a clear favorite or even a clear party."

Longtime political consultant Larry Ceisler said: "I think you're going to have a lot of people running, and I think whatever I'm saying today, I will probably refute in 2010."

If there are any favorites at this early stage, there's also disagreements on who they are.