WaPo deems PA's Senate race merely leans

Citing the Quinnipiac and F&M polls out today, Washington Post's The Fix is noting gains by Republican Tom Smith in the U.S. Senate race against Democratic incumbent, Bob Casey. 

Smith, a self-funding former Democrat who emerged from the a crowded primary field in April, has outspent Casey on the airwaves during the general election, and polling shows he stands within striking distance of the first-term Democrat with under six weeks to go until election day.

As a result of this narrowing, we are moving the Pennsylvania Senate race from “solid Democratic” to “lean Democratic” on our 2012 Senate map. The shift reflects movement toward the Republican side and suggests the race is firmly in play.

WaPo notes Casey's strong name recognition and deep pockets, but concludes the race still has some charge to it:

At this point, Pennsylvania is not among the closest Senate races across the country. But it’s well worth keeping an eye on. If it catches the attention of the national senatorial committees enough to spur the groups to spend money on ads down the stretch, it will be a sign the race has tightened even more.

Photo credit: The Washington Post's The Fix.