With Sen. Arlen Specter’s (D-PA) primary defeat on Tuesday night, the country loses a major advocate for research and education.

Specter was particularly good at securing research money, particularly for medical research.

While the winner of the primary, Joe Sestak, will, if elected, probably vote more or less the same way Specter did, there’s no guarantee he’ll advocate for the same causes. The National Institutes of Health should be grateful for his service. Seriously, name a wing after the guy at the building in Bethesda.

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Daniel Luzer is the news editor at Governing Magazine and former web editor of the Washington Monthly. Find him on Twitter: @Daniel_Luzer