The Republican Jewish Coalition is spending another $350,000 in Pennsylvania, increasing to $2 million its total advertising buy targeting black voters in a bid to push Dr. Mehmet Oz (R) past Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) in this key Senate race.
The RJC’s investment boost comes roughly one week before Election Day, as Oz moves to overcome Fetterman in public opinion polls after their first and only debate. The two are competing to succeed retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), and a win by Oz would lower Democratic prospects of retaining control of the evenly divided Senate.
Although $2 million is a drop in the bucket amid the tens of millions being spent on the Pennsylvania Senate race, the RJC believes its strategy could have an outsize impact. The group’s spots are specifically targeting black voters with direct-to-camera testimonials that paint Fetterman as hostile to the black community.
The advertising is based on an episode years ago when Fetterman was mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, in which, wielding a gun, he chased an unarmed black man who was found to be innocent but whom he believed to be a criminal suspect and held him at gunpoint. The lieutenant governor has at times been apologetic and defensive about the incident.
The RJC, led by Pennsylvania native Matt Brooks, pursued this strategy early this fall after commissioning polling from the GOP firm Public Opinion Strategies that suggested there was an opening to increase black support for Oz beyond that typically received by Republicans.
After a recent Insider Advantage survey showed Oz receiving 14% of the black vote, the RJC, believing its approach was bearing fruit, decided to dump another $350,000 into its advertising buy on top of the $1.65 million it had already spent.
The balance of the RJC’s spending on advertising in the midterm elections has been devoted to Pennsylvania.
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In addition to the $2 million invested in the Senate race, the group has spent $750,000 against Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) in the 7th Congressional District and $450,000 to elevate Jim Bognet, the Republican challenging Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) in the 8th Congressional District.
As of Monday morning, Fetterman led Oz in the RealClearPolitics average by 1.5 percentage points.
