During the latter part of summer, it looked as if Democrat candidates were rapidly gaining ground in midterm polling. Some experts even suggested they’d hold both the House and Senate.
But with grim economic reports, it seems as if the polls have once again shifted back toward Red. And in one blue state, the Democrat candidate’s big lead has almost completely disappeared.
Now, Pennsylvania’s Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is in a worse position than ever before.
At one point, the controversial liberal held a sizable lead over his Republican challenger, Dr. Mehmet Oz. In fact, several surveys showed he enjoyed a 10-point lead as late as early September.
But since then, questions about Fetterman’s health and soft-on-crime accusations have all but erased that lead.
Analyst Jessica Taylor has since altered her prediction — instead of “leaning Democrat,” she now says the race is very tight, and has officially moved it to “toss-up” status.
This via the Cook Political Report (as cited by Washington Examiner):
The Pennsylvania Senate race has become a ‘toss-up’ once again, according to the Cook Political Report, as Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz closes the gap in polling.
The closely watched election analyst shifted its rating to ‘leans Democrat’ in August, when Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was leading Oz by nearly 10 points on average.
Now, that lead has shrunk to 6 points, with some polls showing the race to be within the margin of error.
Taylor said that in speaking with GOP strategists, they now see this race as “winnable.” Up until about 6 weeks ago, most Republicans had accepted that Oz would lose in Pennsylvania.
Dr. Oz’s campaign manager Casey Contres said in a statement that citizens are walking away from Fetterman’s “dangerous views on decriminalizing drugs like heroin,” and “his commitment to raising taxes on hardworking Pennsylvanians.”
On top of that, questions linger about the Democrat’s health:
Some critics say he simply isn’t fit to hold elected office anymore, based on videos like this.
However, Fetterman’s campaign spokesman Joe Calvello said that even though the GOP spent millions to produce negative ads, the Democrat is “still winning,” despite the slip in polling.
Republicans need a net gain of just 1 seat in the midterm elections to reclaim control of the Senate, which is why it’s crucial they hold the seat in PA.
Currently, that seat is held by Sen. Pat Toomey but he’s retiring later this year. And if Fetterman wins, that’ll be a flipped seat for Democrats and make the GOP’s goal that much more difficult.
Key Takeaways:
- A top analyst has moved the Fetterman/Oz race in PA to “toss-up.”
- Fetterman held a 10-point lead as late as 6 weeks ago but the polling has shifted considerably.
- Citizens are apparently reacting to Fetterman’s soft-on-crime stances and his questionable health.
Source: Washington Examiner
