Casey 46, Santorum 41 in PA Senate race

First news of my day, and it's sweet to hear(via Kos):

"At this early stage, State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., clearly threatens Sen. Santorum's re-election bid.

"Casey edges Santorum in a head-to-head matchup, and both candidates have nearly equal favorable ratings, while Santorum has a much higher unfavorable rating. As an outspoken conservative, Santorum has placed himself at the right end of the political spectrum, with even 12 percent of Republicans saying he is too conservative," Richards added.

"As a conservative Democrat, like his much respected father, Casey takes up the rest of the political spectrum, as independent voters favor Casey 49 - 32 percent. Casey's big problem at this point is to convince possible Democratic rivals to avoid a potentially party-splitting primary."

Sadly, Santourm leads other challengers (including Hoeffel), but mostly because they have poor recognition ratings. Still, Santorum is a prime target, money for the Dems should pour in, and these numbers are very encouraging.