John Micek & Scott Kraus of the Morning Call round up the latest thinking on whether Tom Ridge will jump into the Pennsylvania Senate race:

''I think he really does miss public service,'' said Leslie Gromis-Baker, Ridge's longtime fundraiser. ''He doesn't necessarily like the direction the party has been going in. And maybe running might help it to get back on the right track.'' [snip]

Bob Asher, the state's Republican national committeeman, said he met recently with Ridge and urged a run. ''Gov. Ridge is very serious about considering to run,'' Asher said, ''and he is weighing his options.''

Indeed, as Gromis-Baker's comment indicates, there's more at stake here than just a Senate seat. Specter's brand of centrism was a bridge too far for most Republicans (both in Pennsylvania and elsewhere) but Ridge is a different animal.

He is politically moderate, yet has enough standing and respect with members of his party - and perhaps most importantly, doesn't have the baggage of Specter's 29-year voting record - to win the primary and possibly the general as well.

That would obviously be a huge victory for a party that is rightly characterized as being on the ropes and in danger of becoming regionalized. Ash Khare, a Republican activist from Warren County, PA, who is friendly with Ridge makes the point in the Morning Call piece: ''The GOP is going no place right now. If we are to resurrect the GOP, we have to take [Specter's] Senate seat.''