The gap between Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is closing and moving to a "toss up" contest, according to a new Cook Political Report Tuesday.
"When we shifted our Pennsylvania Senate rating to Lean Democrat about six weeks ago, we included this key caveat — Republican spending against Democratic nominee John Fetterman had yet to ramp up, and that while Republican Mehmet Oz still has a hefty problem with his own favorables, that it's not out of the question that this could move back [to toss up] as the election nears," Cook analyst Jessica Taylor wrote Tuesday. "Now, with five weeks until election day, that's exactly where we find this race."
The FiveThirtyEight website aggregate of six polls has Fetterman with a 5.8-point lead over Oz, down from a 10-point lead, 50.2% to 39.5%, on Sept. 12, and the Real Clear Politics aggregate poll showing Fetterman losing ground to Oz with just a 4.3-point advantage, 48% to 43.7%, as of Tuesday.
"Our momentum is building every day and we're uniting Republicans, Independents, and Democrats who want to see a change in Washington," Oz Campaign Financial Director Michael Adams told The Hill Tuesday. "We're proud of our success this quarter — and we're just getting started."
Oz is bringing in $17 million, including a $7 million loan to his campaign during the third quarter, bringing his total to $19 million compared to Fetterman's haul of $26 million through the end of June, according to data compiled on the Federal Election Commission website.
While Fetterman may be leading in heads-up fundraising against Oz, the GOP Senate Leadership Fund PAC is spending more than $34 million in the state on ads depicting Fetterman as soft on crime, the fund's spokesman Jack Panadol told Axios.
USA Today reported Tuesday that the Pennsylvania race could be a game-changer in terms of controlling the evenly split 50-50 Senate, and one of the few shots Democrats have of flipping a previously Republican seat in that chamber.
According to the report, a victory there would give Democrats breathing room to lose another seat without impacting the current dynamic with Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast a tie-breaking 51st vote in that body.
The report cited polling that shows inflation and abortion rights being the two major issues in that state, with 44% choosing inflation and 25% choosing abortion rights.
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