Sen. Arlen Specter’s announcement that he would switch parties to pursue reelection as a Democrat drew surprise quickly from his Democratic Senate colleagues.
A one-word response characterized Democrats’ response: “Wow.”
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) tweeted:
Specter to switch parties? Wow.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) shortly followed up:
Whoa, Arlen Specter is switching to Democratic Party after three decades in GOP
The surprise announcement was met with shock well beyond the walls of Congress, however. Tweets from bloggers, pundits, and journalists all expressed surprise at the announcement today.