| − | Specter first foray into politics was when he was elected District Attorney in Philadelphia in 1965. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Philadelphia in 1967 and was defeated for reelection to a third term as district attorney in 1973. He was defeated in the 1976 Republican Primary for U.S. Senate by John Heinz and in the 1978 primary for Governor of Pennsylvania by Dick Thornburgh. Arlen Specter was elected to the Senate in 1980 and is currently serving his fifth term. In 2005, Senator Specter became Pennsylvania's longest serving U.S. Senator. He is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and a senior member of the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees. Specter also made an unsuccessful run for the presidency in 1996 and ended up supporting losing candidate [[Bob Dole]]. | + | Specter first foray into politics was when he was elected District Attorney in Philadelphia in 1965. He mounted an unsuccessful campaign for mayor of Philadelphia in 1967 and was defeated for reelection to a third term as district attorney in 1973. He was defeated in the 1976 Republican Primary for U.S. Senate by John Heinz and in the 1978 primary for Governor of Pennsylvania by Dick Thornburgh. Arlen Specter was elected to the Senate in 1980 and is currently serving his fifth term. In 2005, Senator Specter became Pennsylvania's longest serving U.S. Senator. He was formally Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and was a senior member of the Appropriations and Veterans Affairs committees. However, after defecting from the Republican Party Specter lost all of his seniority. Specter went from serving as the most powerfull Republican on the Judiciary Committee to the lowest ranking Democrat in four out of his five committee assignments. <ref>http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/arlen_specter_stripped/2009/05/06/211368.html</ref> |