Fetterman’s lead dwindles in Pennsylvania Senate Race

Addison Price, Staff writer

ERIE, PA, Oct. 9 — Former Lt. Gov., John Fetterman, loses his 10-point lead in Pennsylvania Senate race against Dr. Mehmet Oz. With about 5 more weeks until Election Day, Oz has had an increase in poll support, with the New York Post labeling it a “miracle comeback.” Poll reports show a trend of declining support in Fetterman starting in early September.

According to the latest election update from FiveThirtyEight, Republican organizations have recently funded over $20 million in campaign ads targeting the Fetterman campaign. Meanwhile, the Fetterman campaign announced plans of “Republicans for Fetterman,” a tactic to use ads geared toward Republican voters who may be on the fence with Oz as their party candidate. This plan could be in response to the significant decrease in Fetterman’s poll support.

NBC10 shared quotes from the ads that will be running until Nov. 4th, with one self-identified, lifelong Republican man expressing his support for Fetterman. According to the newsletter, the Fetterman campaign ads include testimonies from several former Republicans, some even former Trump voters. Recent reports from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion show Fetterman holds 7% of the Republican vote while Oz has 3% of the Democratic vote, if the Republicans for Fetterman ads work then this number should increase in the following weeks.

The competitivity of this election is no surprise. The Pennsylvania Senate is currently split; the winner helps their party gain majority in the chamber. Both Fetterman and Oz have used social media to bolster their campaigns, The Washington Post followed their back and forth dynamic, creating “The Fetterman-Oz meme campaign” timeline. The article contains some of their most viral moments, including memes, tweets, and TikTok videos created by their campaign.

Expect to see an influx of Senate campaign ads, both online and via television, within the next 5 weeks and look out for poll updates; major broadcasting networks have polls updated weekly, if not daily. Both Fetterman and Oz continue to use social media, especially their Twitter accounts, to share poll reports and their stances on Pennsylvania voter issues.