Pa. Rep. Sestak stands by claim that White House offered him job to drop challenge of Specter

Sestak says White House offered him job to not run

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak says the White House offered him a federal job in an effort to persuade him not to mount a Democratic primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

During a taping Thursday of the Comcast Network’s “Larry Kane: Voice of Reason” show, he said he was offered a high-ranking job but turned it down. His spokesman, Jonathon Dworkin, said Friday that Sestak stands by his comments.

Questioned after a stop at senior citizen center in Pittsburgh, Sestak said there was nothing to be gained by providing further details.

“I’m in the race, that’s all that matters,” he said.

The White House told The Associated Press that it had no immediate comment.

Specter defected in April from a Republican Party that he said had grown too conservative for him to win another term.

Sestak, a retired Navy admiral and two-term congressman, has attacked Specter’s votes for GOP positions and questioned his loyalty to the Democratic Party.

Ethics attorneys in Washington said such offers are common.

Melanie Sloan, director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, described it as “politics as usual.”

(This version CORRECTS watchdog group’s name.)