WASHINGTON -- Veteran Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter said he's ready for a tough-reelection race in 2010 -- no matter which candidates he faces.

He's not speculating on whether the challengers might include MSNBC pundit Chris Matthews -- who reportedly met with Pennsylvania Democratic leaders last week to talk about a Senate run.

Specter told CNN's "Late Edition" on Sunday that he expects challenges from the left and the right as he goes for a sixth term. The 78-year-old said he's ready for the fight.

“I’m going to have an opponent, in fact I’m going to have two opponents -- one in the primary, where I always have a tough race, and again in the general,” Specter told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition." “I never look over my shoulder, I never look behind. Somebody may be gaining on me. I run with blinders. I’ll be prepared no matter who my opponents are.”

The head of the Democratic party's campaign arm, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, said he hasn't spoken with Matthews or with any intermediaries about a possible challenge to Specter.

Matthews' contract with MSNBC expires in June. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1974, and worked for Jimmy Carter and former House Speaker Tip O'Neill.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg reported Friday that Mary Isenhour, the executive director of the state Democrats, said she left the meeting feeling that Matthews still hadn't made up his mind.

"He's got a really good job with MSNBC," Isenhour told the paper. "I think he's going to put some thought into it before he jumps in."

The 62-year-old Matthews hosts MSNBC's "Hardball" and provides political commentary on NBC's "Today" show. He's a Philadelphia native and ran unsuccessfully for a northeast Philadelphia congressional seat in 1974.