A new USA Today Network/Suffolk University poll measuring voters’ stances on the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race currently unfolding has Democrat John Fetterman, who’s currently the lieutenant governor of the state, nine percent ahead of Republican Mehmet Oz, aka Dr. Oz, who has Trump’s support.
Fetterman has 46 percent of the support in this new poll, while Oz has 37 percent. Pennsylvania’s up-for-grabs Senate seat, which is currently held by the GOP, is considered by some to be among the most “flippable” of the U.S. Senate seats on the ballot this year. Fetterman, besides leading Oz when respondents were asked who they’d actually support, is also viewed more favorably: “In the Senate race, Fetterman has much broader appeal than his opponent,” as summarized in the Erie Times-News by a reporter with the USA Today Network’s Pennsylvania state capital bureau. “His favorable rating is at 45% compared to 27% who view him unfavorably. Half of all respondents view Oz unfavorably, while 28% have a favorable opinion of him.”
There’s also a new poll in North Carolina — where, like Pennsylvania, an incumbent Republican Senator is retiring — that suggests Democrats could win. Democrat Cheri Beasley led general election challenger and Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd by four percent in a new poll from WRAL News and SurveyUSA of preferences in the Senate race between the two of them. Beasley had 44 percent of the support, while Budd — who, like Oz, is a Trump favorite — had 40 percent. In Pennsylvania, Fetterman is a relatively consistent favorite in polling, but the picture in North Carolina is more complicated. Although there hasn’t been an overwhelming number of polls conducted amid the race, the FiveThirtyEight weighted average of surveys for the North Carolina Senate contest had Budd ahead by 2.3 percent as of Saturday afternoon. “Beasley fared best in the [new] poll among women, moderates, urban residents, college graduates, gun control supporters and lower-income residents. Beasley also received plurality support among all age groups,” per WRAL.
President Joe Biden shouted out Fetterman during a recent speech. “And just yesterday — — just yesterday, I had a conversation — a Zoom conversation — with our next senator from this state, John Fetterman,” Biden said. “You know, if you’re in a foxhole, you want John with you, man. I know he can’t wait to get back on the trail. He’s looking good. And there’s no bigger, stronger voice for working people in this state than John — certainly no bigger one, for that matter.” (Fetterman is very tall.) Biden said all this at the 29th AFL-CIO Quadrennial Constitutional Convention, which unfolded in Pennsylvania. Democrats currently control the Senate, but flipping just one seat could make all the difference — adding one to the Democratic column would make the president’s side less dependent on Joe Manchin, and losing one could leave infamous obstructionist Mitch McConnell leading the Senate once again. The Senate’s currently controlled by Democrats only because of Vice President Kamala Harris’s tie-breaking role.
