Conservative and pro-life Peg Luksik has declared her candidacy for Senate, challenging Arlen Specter for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate next year, according to the AP.

Now what’s interesting here is how this may or may not alter Pat Toomey’s potential candidacy. Toomey, who narrowly lost a primary challenge to Specter in 2004, has hinted that he may run again for Specter’s seat. Many pro-lifers believe Toomey would have an excellent chance to beat Specter.

But by announcing first, Luksik, I’d imagine, is hoping to deter Toomey from running.

Look, it’s always nice to have a pro-lifer in a race. But it’s almost always bad to have two. This could end up being a disaster for conservatives as Luksik and Toomey could potentially split the pro-life vote leaving Specter with a far easier run to the nomination. Toomey has many advantages in his access to heavy hitting fundraisers as the President of the Club for Growth and grassroots support from his last run.

But Luksik doesn’t seem to be shying away from the race as she reportedly said Toomey told her in February that he wasn’t running for the Senate, adding that it’s up to Toomey to decide whether he wants to risk dividing the GOP’s conservative wing.

Luksik is a pro-life hero and has been active in the pro-life movement and politics for decades. According to an old campaign website, Luksik is the founder and Chairman of Mom’s House, which is an alternative to abortion project which provides single parents and their children with the combination of child care and support services necessary to allow them to complete their education. Luksik has previously run for Governor and Senate, sometimes as an independent and sometimes as a Republican.

Let’s hope this works out for the best. Pro-choice and pro-stimulus Specter needs to go.