said that Obama and Biden felt obligated to strongly support Specter because they so strongly lobbied him to switch parties. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and radio personality Michael Smerconish also spoke on Specter's behalf. Senate Majority Leader Reid took the unusual steps of scheduling no Senate votes that day so both Specter and Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, Jr. could attend the fundraiser. That move drew criticism from Republicans, as well as from Sestak, who felt Specter was skirting his Senate responsibilities, yet hypocritically criticizing Sestak at the same time for missing more than 100 votes in the U.S. House. The event was expected to raise about $2.5 million, which was to be split between Specter's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. After the fundraiser, Obama and Specter traveled via Air Force One to Pittsburgh to address labor activists at the AFL–CIO convention. There, Specter assured the audience he would support the Employee Free Choice Act, a proposed bill that would make union formation easier, which Specter had previously opposed as a Republican. Specter maintains lead As the primary entered into October, Specter continued to criticize Sestak on his record of missed votes in Congress. He claimed Sestak missed 122 in the past year, or nearly 17 percent of his total votes, whereas Specter missed four. In a letter, Specter told Sestak he should drop out of the campaign and start voting on a more consistent basis, or resign from the House "so he can cease to be a burden to the taxpayers". Around the same time, Sestak launched a website called "The Real Specter", which highlighted the right-leaning votes Specter made and alliances he held during his 29 years as a Republican in the senate. Specter continued to maintain a significant lead against Sestak of 19 percentage points, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released that month. But Sestak pointed out that the gap was 32 points in July, and cited the poll as proof that he was gaining ground in the race. Also that month, new reports indicated Toomey was growing in popularity and, in one poll, was actually ahead of Specter, with 43 percent of respondents saying they would vote for him compared to 42 percent for Specter. This was attributed by some to the challenge presented by Sestak and the declining popularity of Obama, whose approval rating had dropped from 56 percent in July to 49