PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Two polls released last week show Democrats appear to be bucking the midterm trend and leading in the top two races in Pennsylvania.
A Fox News poll found Democrat John Fetterman is ahead of Republican Mehmet Oz by 11 points in the U.S. Senate race, and Democrat Josh Shapiro is ahead of Republican Doug Mastriano for governor by 10 points.
A Blueprint Polling survey found similar results: Fetterman ahead by 9 points, Shapiro ahead by 11.
“Despite a pretty tough environment for Democrats nationally, the Democratic candidates right now, according to the polling that is out there, have established themselves as frontrunners,” said Muhlenberg College pollster and political science professor Chris Borick.
Of course, it’s still months out from the election, so late-July polls should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
“However, when you see a number of polls start to show a race or races that are aligning in one direction, it raises questions,” Borick noted.
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Attorney General Shapiro’s ads have been attacking state Sen. Mastriano for being too extreme, while Lt. Gov. Fetterman has been hammering Oz for being from New Jersey, not Pennsylvania.
“Fetterman’s campaign about Dr. Hollywood, the carpetbagger — all of those issues against Oz are really, I think, resonated in a major way with the voters of the state,” said veteran political analyst Terry Madonna said.
“In a cycle that’s good for Republicans, is this some piece of evidence of Republican candidates that might not necessarily be the best fit in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and not the best matchups with their Democratic opponents?” he asked.
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Oz is starting to get out on the trail too, with campaign events around the state. But like Borick, Madonna said we will just “have to wait and see” which way the races turn by Nov. 8.