Sen. Arlen Specter (D) announced Wednesday that he raised $1.8 million in the third quarter and ended September with $8.7 million in his campaign war chest.

The party-switching Senator is likely to need every penny and then some to beat back a competitive primary challenge and win re-election next year. The money totals were released as a new poll showed Specter and former Rep. Pat Toomey (R) in a dead heat in the 2010 Senate race.

Specter and Toomey were in a statistical tie, 42 percent to 41 percent, respectively, with 12 percent of voters still undecided in the Oct. 7-12 Susquehanna Polling and Research survey. It also showed Specter was unpopular with voters, with only 31 percent of survey respondents saying he deserved re-election next year.

Specter, however, is in a good position to win the Democratic primary next April. He led Rep. Joe Sestak 44 percent to 16 percent in the poll.

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

Toomey was boosted this weekend by a visit from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R), who endorsed his campaign and visited Philadelphia with the former Congressman on Oct. 13.

“It’s pretty clear that one-party rule in Washington is taking this great country down the path of expensive and extreme policies that hurt our economy and endanger American jobs,— Romney said in an e-mail to Toomey’s supporters. “We need balance in the Senate; I’m confident that Pat is the man for the job.—