Arlen Specter

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Arlen Specter, former US Senator from Pennsylvania - Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican from 1965 until 2009, when he switched back to the Democratic Party. He wrote in his 2009 statement, "While I have been comfortable being a Republican, my Party has not defined who I am. ...I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary. [but] I will not be an automatic 60th vote for cloture."

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Vice President Joseph R. Biden arrives at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, Pa., on Tuesday to attend the funeral of former Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. (Associated Press)

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Joan Specter hugs a woman as she leaves the temple after the funeral of her husband, former Sen. Arlen Specter, in Penn Valley, Pa., on Tuesday. Specter died Sunday of complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He had spent 30 years in the Senate before losing his seat in 2010. He crossed party lines to vote for President Obama’s stimulus. (Associated Press)

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Mourners walk Oct. 16, 2012, to Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, Pa., for former U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's funeral. Family members say Specter died Sunday of complications from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was 82. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, looks out toward the tarmac at the executive terminal of Philadelphia International Airport on April 26, 2004, as he waits to board a plane while campaigning the day before Pennsylvania's Republican primary. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, speaks May 17, 2010, at the Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, as he campaigns across the state for the Democratic nomination to run for re-election. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, shakes hands with Victor Cazzone, 7, of Exton, Pa., during a May 15, 2010, campaign rally at Gateway Park in Coatesville, Pa. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, stands May 18, 2010, with his wife, Joan, after voting in Philadelphia. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter arrives May 17, 2010, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as he campaigns across the state for the Democratic nomination to run for re-election. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Former Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter poses for a portrait in November 1965. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Dr. Everett Koop (left), who had been nominated to be the U.S. surgeon general, chats Oct. 1, 1981, with Republican Sens. Arlen Specter (center), of Pennsylvania, and Orrin Hatch, of Utah, prior to appearing before the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington for Koop's confirmation hearings. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Vice President Walter F. Mondale re-enacts the swearing in of Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 1981. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Sen. Arlen Specter (center, facing camera), Pennsylvania Republican and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, swears in Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito (back to camera) on Jan. 9, 2006, during his confirmation hearing before the committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** President Obama arrives Sept. 15, 2009, at a fundraising event for Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Republican presidential candidate Ronald Reagan holds up U.S. Senate candidate Arlen Specter's hand at fund-raising party for Specter in Philadelphia on Aug. 19, 1980. (Associated Press)

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Arlen Specter, former senator from Pennsylvania, said he thinks Newt Gingrich "might make a pretty good president" but that his "baggage" will likely cost him the nomination. (J.M. Eddins Jr./The Washington Times)

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President Obama got an assist from then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania in Febraury 2009 when he provided a key vote for the economic stimulus package. As Mr. Specter leaves the Senate after 30 years, he says he wouldn't change a thing about his political path, which included switching political parties. (Associated Press)