PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Republican Mehmet Oz gained ground in polls during September in the U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, so much so that election analysts like those from the Cook Report considered it virtually a tie.
But Democrat John Fetterman maintains his lead in a new poll released Tuesday.
A USA Today/Suffolk University poll found 46% of voters favoring Fetterman and 40% for Oz.
Fetterman also got 46% support in their last poll in June, but Oz had only 37%, so Oz made a 3% gain. That follows the trend that several polls last week showed, with Oz closing the gap between himself and Fetterman to a point where Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor’s lead over Oz was 2% to 4%, within the polls’ margin of error.
A new Telemundo poll also shows Fetterman with an 18% lead among Latino voters.
Related
This is the latest curve in a race that started out with Fetterman out in front throughout the summer, even though he’d had a stroke and could not campaign. Political analyst Terry Madonna, senior fellow for political affairs at Millersville University credits Oz’s high-spending primary opponent David McCormick for that.
“$60 million: David McCormick really set the stage for this ‘carpetbagger, Dr. Hollywood,’ saying he doesn’t live in the state,” said Madonna.
“What McCormick did was to unmercifully beat him up for being an outsider. ‘Not one of us.’”
Related
Indeed, consultant Neil Oxman said Oz has not been able to shake his unfavorable rating. The poll shows it upside down at 51% unfavorable to 34% favorable.
.
“No candidate that I’ve seen statewide, Democrat or Republican, has had a favorable/unfavorable as bad as Dr. Oz,” said Oxman.
Related
In September, Oz gained footing, first challenging Fetterman’s health, pounding him on agreeing to only one debate, and labeling him a no-show while Oz vigorously hit the campaign trail.
At the same time, with help from national political action committees, millions of dollars in ads attacked Fetterman’s record on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons, painting him soft on crime.
Related
It seemed to be working. After last week’s polls, an Oz spokesperson said Fetterman’s “radical positions are causing voters from all walks of life to support Dr. Oz."
Polls find that what Oz has done with the ads is increase Fetterman’s unfavorable rating to 44%, with a 45% favorable rating.
Fetterman’s campaign focuses on his continuing lead, not only in the latest poll but in aggregate ratings by sites such as RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight.
“The GOP threw everything they had at John. They spent millions in negative ads against John. Fox News has attacked John almost every night,” a Fetterman spokesman said.
“But here we are, not only still standing, but still winning.”