By Shira Toeplitz, CQ-Roll Call

Pennsylvania voters are eager to replace party-switcher Arlen Specter in the Senate, according to a Susquehanna Polling and Research survey conducted Oct. 7 to 12.

Only 31 percent of survey respondents said that Specter — running for the first time as a Democrat — deserved re-election next year.

But they’re also not embracing the better-known of Specter’s Republican challengers. When asked to choose between Specter and former Rep. Pat Toomey, the result was a statistical tie — 42 percent to 41 percent — with 12 percent of the registered voters surveyed saying they were unable to choose.

Notably, Toomey did well with self-described swing voters — he was the preferred choice of 43 percent of those who say they do not vote according to party, while Specter was favored by 36 percent of the ticket splitters.

Specter, however, is in a good position to with the Democratic primary next April; the poll found him leading Rep. Joe Sestak , 44 percent to 16 percent.

Of those who responded to the poll, 52 percent were self-identified Democrats and 42 percent were self-identified Republicans.

The poll took the opinions of 700 likely voters and had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.

CQ Politics currently rates the Pennsylvania Senate contest Leans Democratic.

To follow all the 2010 Senate races, check out the CQ Politics election map.