Flemington, NJ, April 30, 2009 – A new national study conducted among 313 self- reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents revealed that the majority of all parties reported that Senator Arlen Specter switched to the Democratic party to improve his chances of winning the Pennsylvania primary in 2010.

The study was conducted by HCD Research, using its MediaCurves® website on April 29, to obtain Americans’ perceptions regarding Pennsylvania Senator, Arlen Specter’s recent announcement that he has switched to the Democratic Party from the Republican Party.

The study also revealed that 7% of all respondents have switched political parties in the last four years or plan to switch in the near future; most of which are now registered as Independents.

When asked if they thought that Senator Specter would win the Pennsylvania primary in 2010, a majority of Democrats (67%) believed he would win, compared to 34% of Republicans and 46% of Independents who reported he would win.

Among the findings:

“What do you believe caused Senator Specter to change political parties? Select all that apply.”

 “Have you switched political parties in the past four years or plan to switch in the near future?”

 “Do you think Specter will win the Pennsylvania primaries as a Democrat in 2010?”

While viewing the video clip, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants were also asked to respond to post-viewing questions.

The MediaCurves website provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.

Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).