Claiming that his political philosophy is now more in line with Democrats than Republicans, Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa) recently announced his intent to run for reelection as a Democratic in the 2010 primary. If he were to win as a Democrat in 2010, and Al Franken wins his fight to take Norm Coleman’s Minnesota senate seat as is expected, the Democratic party, with two independents voting with the Democratic caucus, will have the 60 votes needed to stave off any senate filibuster if all vote according to party lines on a particular issue. Although Specter rebuffs the suggestion that he will be an automatic 60th vote for cloture, and claims his position on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will not change, his decision has necessarily raised concern within the Republican party. In earlier statements, Specter stated his opposition to the EFCA, but support for consideration of revisions to the National Labor Relations Act, specifically the election procedures and some remedial provisions. Even with Specter’s change in party affiliation, enough Democratic Senators oppose cloture on EFCA to make passage unlikely. However, Specter’s position on other aspects of the Democratic labor and employment law agenda may change with Specter’s defection.