Chris Matthews Mulls Senate Bid as Poll Shows Statistical Tie

Update: The Matthews bid seems pretty serious to me. I spoke with Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman TJ Rooney this afternoon, and he said the state party is very excited about Mattews' candidacy, as they have long sought a serious challenger to Specter's seat. "I'd have to be convicted of political malpractice not to be interested in Chris' candidacy," he said. "I can tell you that if he decides to run, it will be for the right reasons, you know, and not for the fame or fortune."

When asked what the time frame for an announcement would be, Rooney replied, "Chris knows what it takes, he'll decide in the sort of time frame that will allow him to run a good, serious campaign."

When I told him about the Reuters poll, he said, "Well, that's probably mainly a function of name recognition, but it's certainly better than going in, you know, 48 points down." The speculation about a possible Chris Matthews run for Senate in Pennsylvannia has had its ups and downs this week. A rumor that Matthews was in active talks about a run were denied by his staff, but now new reports have the MSNBC pundit talking to political leaders Monday about his possible bid, and some advising him to quit his TV job now as a result. From Politico:

"As a news organization, you certainly wouldn't want to be in the position where you were giving a candidate an advantage by putting him on the air every night if he were running," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of Pew's Project for Excellence in Journalism.

The Politico report goes on to speculate that the heating up of the rumor may just be a negotiating ploy on Matthews' part.

Of course, the fact that Matthews currently trails Specter by less than the margin of error in a new Reuters poll could influence him: (h/t TPM)

Republican Senator Arlen Specter is potentially vulnerable in his 2010 bid for re-election. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Pennsylvania voters finds Specter leading MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews by just three percentage points, 46% to 43%, in a match-up that may foreshadow one of the nation's most closely-watched Senate races.

I'm hoping he does it, if for no other reason than that I'll get at least 3 stories out of it: The announcement, the one where I picth Caleb and I to replace him, and the one with the eventual Youtube video of Olbermann or someone sating Matthews gives them a feeling up the leg.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues - Thur at 10pm, and Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.