A new poll has brought some good news for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and governor candidate Doug Mastriano.
The poll by the Atlanta-based Trafalgar Group surveyed nearly 1,100 likely Pennsylvania voters and found that Oz only trails Democratic opponent John Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, 48.4 percent to 43.5 percent.
Trafalgar’s poll had a margin of error of plus/minus 2.9 percentage points.
While still having to make up ground, the poll results will likely give the Oz campaign a much-needed morale boost after previous polls had him trailing considerably further behind.
Most recently, a Fox News poll released July 28 had Fetterman up 11 points and a Suffolk University/USA TODAY poll earlier this summer had Fetterman up 9 points.
Fetterman’s nearly 5-point lead in the Trafalgar poll is his slimmest since an AARP-commissioned poll in June gave him a 6-point lead.
According to RealClearPolitics.com, Fetterman’s average lead among various polls on the race is 7.5 points.
The two Republican candidates may get an additional boost from former President Donald Trump who announced he is holding a rally for Oz and Mastriano, a state senator, in Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 3.
Trump’s visit could provide more help to the Oz campaign which has stumbled over the summer, dogged by stories about insider Republicans, including Trump, being unhappy with his campaign and bombarded by Fetterman’s well-oiled social media machine that unrelentingly mocks Oz.
Oz’s rough week was one reason the respected Cook Political Report was prompted to change its rating for the Senate race from “toss-up” to “leans Democratic,” according to TheHill.com.
Mastriano, meanwhile, was riding a wave of enthusiasm after GOP presidential hopeful Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida held a rally with him in Pittsburgh on Friday.
Although the crowd was solidly behind them, the rally drew sharp rebukes from Democrats, Jewish community members and faith leaders in Pittsburgh because of Mastriano’s ties to Gab, a right-wing social media platform whose owner has espoused anti-Semitic views.
Mastriano has closed his Gab account and said the owner’s views do not represent his.
Trafalgar’s poll showed Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, leading Mastriano 48.6 percent to 44.7 percent. This comes after Fox News had Shapiro up 50 percent to 40 percent and Suffolk/USA TODAY had Shapiro leading by 4 points.
About 1,000 people gathered for the Pittsburgh rally for DeSantis and Mastriano, both of whom warned the audience not to trust media reports and coming polls.
However, Republican lieutenant governor candidate Carrie DelRosso celebrated the Trafalgar poll results during an appearance on the conservative John Fredericks Show.
“Great news is we haven’t really spent a lot of money on this race, but we’re going to start,” DelRosso said. “Doug Mastriano, he’s it. He’s a leader. He’s got a resume like no other.”
DelRosso said the Trafalgar poll was “more a little-bit honest” than other polls. “Pennsylvania is going to be red,” she said. “You can mark my word on that.”
©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit pennlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
—-
This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
Every time John Fetterman appeared at an event I felt embarrassed for our state, he reminded me of a thug! And since his health problem he tends to make less sense than he did before. His advocacy for legalizing drugs does not inspire confidence.
I do not feel Oz is a real conservative. I think he’s yet another RINO.
BUT i could be mistaken. We shall have to wait and see.