At a breakfast for the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce last week, Pat Toomey identified federal spending as his main concern, characterizing his Democrat opponent Joe Sestak as a status quo politician.

Last year, after supporting the president’s stimulus package, Sestak said he “would have voted for $1 trillion,” or what would have been a roughly $200 billion increase over the approved package. In another interview, when asked if the stimulus was “too small,” Sestak responded, “Without a question.”

Toomey, on the other hand, thought differently:

“I think this whole agenda has been a huge mistake. I think its taking us in the direction of the European welfare states and predictably, if pursued, will, very predictably, lead to the economic sclerosis that they’ve experienced for years,” Mr. Toomey said. “Joe Sestak’s attitude is that he’s in favor of all of it and his only criticism is that it doesn’t go far enough.” […]
“I believe that Washington is completely lacking in any sense of humility these days and it’s a big, big problem,” Mr. Toomey said. “Serial bailouts, nationalizing whole industries, spending on a scale we’ve never seen before, unprecedented deficits and debt that are completely unsustainable, cap and trade, card check, government run health care, politicizing the allocation of credit. This is an agenda that is having the chilling effect on job growth.”

Public opinion of both candidates, according to Rasmussen poll, breaks down fairly evenly. Toomey, holding a six-point lead, is viewed “very favorably” by 20% and “very unfavorable” by 12%. Sestak, meanwhile, is seen by 19% as “very favorable,” with 18% saying he’s “very unfavorable.”