the speculation came to an end on January 7, 2009, when Matthews told his Hardball staff he was not going to run for Senate. Such media outlets as The New York Times and The Washington Post suggested Matthews' alleged consideration was a tactic to ensure a higher salary during negotiations with MSNBC to renew his contract, which was set to expire in June 2009. Arlen Specter party switch As early as 2008, five-term Republican Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter had made clear his plans to seek re-election. Specter had narrowly avoided a primary defeat against conservative challenger Pat Toomey during his 2004 Senate race, and he was expected to face an even greater challenge from Toomey in 2010, particularly since the conservative faction of the Pennsylvania Republican Party had vowed to defeat Specter in the upcoming primary. Some high-profile Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden and Governor Rendell, began encouraging Specter to join the Democratic Party by publicly offering to help Specter raise money if he switched. A March 2009 Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll found Specter trailing Toomey 41 percent to 27 percent among Republican primary voters, in large part due to voter angst over Specter's support for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was supported by President Obama. Since the Pennsylvania primaries are closed, the poll noted that Specter could not be assisted by support from moderates or Democrats. Clay F. Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said of the poll results, "Pennsylvania Republicans are so unhappy with Sen. Specter’s vote for President Barack Obama's Stimulus Package and so-called pork barrel spending that they are voting for a former Congressman they hardly know." A March 2009 article in The Hill quoted Specter as stating he was considering leaving the Republican party to run for re-election as an Independent candidate. Specter later denied the validity of those claims, announcing on March 18, "To eliminate any doubt, I am a Republican, and I am running for reelection in 2010 as a Republican on the Republican ticket." However, on April 28, 2009, Specter announced he was leaving the Republican Party and becoming a Democrat because he disagreed with the increasingly conservative direction the Republican Party was heading in and found his personal philosophy was now better aligned with the Democrats. Although Specter said that he primarily based his decision on principle, he also admitted it was