Joe Sestak: From Navy Admiral to Dragon Slayer

When Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.), the Navy admiral-turned-congressman, defeated 30-year incumbent Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate primary Tuesday night, it was the second time in his short political career that he had knocked out a better-known incumbent. Four years earlier, Sestak bested Rep. Curt Weldon, beating the Republican incumbent by nearly 13 points to take the seat representing Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional district in Congress.

In his three years on Capitol Hill, Sestak has offset his 31-year military career with an aggressively liberal voting record, supporting the Democratic House leadership on most votes and endorsing nearly all of the White House's top priorities. Sestak voted for President Obama's health care bill, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and the energy bill that included a cap-and-trade mechanism to reduce carbon emissions. He also established himself as pro-choice, with a 100 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, pro-gun control, and pro-labor, sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act.

Last August, Sestak announced that he would challenge five-term incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter for the state's U.S. Senate seat, setting up a primary between himself and the newly minted but heavily backed Democrat.

Stiff on the stump and little liked by his fellow Democrats behind the scenes on Capitol Hill, Sestak lagged behind the better known Specter in the Democratic contest for months. While Specter got endorsements from the president, the vice president, and the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Sestak quietly made his case to Democratic primary voters that they should not vote for a man they'd been voting against for three decades. Only with two weeks left until the election did the race begin to tighten.

Primary Election Coverage:

- Sestak Beats Specter, Paul Wins
- Specter Loses Pa. Senate Race
- Rand Paul Credits Tea Party for Win
- Mark Critz Wins Murtha Seat
- John Boozman Wins Senate Primary
- Lincoln, Halter Head to Senate Runoff

One of eight children of a Navy captain in Pennsylvania, Sestak finished second in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy. He also earned a Ph.D in political economy from Harvard and capped his Naval career with a second star and the command of an aircraft carrier battle group in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sestak also served in the Clinton White House as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council.

With one Goliath down, Sestak has one more major opponent standing between him and a seat in the U.S. Senate. In November, he'll face former Republican congressman Pat Toomey, who gave up his seat in Congress six years ago to challenge Sen. Specter for his Senate seat. Unlike Sestak Tuesday night, Toomey lost the contest with Specter and will battle Sestak for the job they both want.