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.
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“In conversations with several GOP strategists and lawmakers — who a month and a half ago had begun to put the Keystone State in the loss column — this has emerged as a margin-of-error race that they once again see winnable,” analyst Jessica Taylor said in her report. “Republicans and Democrats alike admit the race has tightened and that Pennsylvania could be the tipping point state for the Senate majority.”
Polls improved for Oz through September, with the most recent from Suffolk University/USA Today putting him 6 points behind Fetterman, 40% to 46%. The previous poll from Emerson College/WHTM-TV/the Hill put Fetterman only 2 points ahead.
“The momentum is with Dr. Oz in the closing weeks of the campaign as voters learn more about John Fetterman’s dangerous views on decriminalizing dangerous drugs like heroin, his commitment to raising taxes on hardworking Pennsylvanians while failing to pay his own, and his policies that put criminals over victims and our communities. Fetterman’s extreme views are too radical for Pennsylvanians,” said Oz campaign manager Casey Contres in a statement.
Fetterman’s camp said it’s not worried about the rating and expects the environment is still favorable for the Pennsylvania Democrat.
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“In the past month, the GOP threw everything they had at John, they spent millions in negative ads against John, Fox News has attacked John almost every night, but here we are, not only still standing, but still winning,” campaign spokesman Joe Calvello told the Washington Examiner.
Republicans need to defend their Pennsylvania seat, which is currently held by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey. The GOP needs a net gain of one seat to gain control of the upper chamber in November.
