With five weeks to go until November’s elections, a new public opinion poll in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania indicates that Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman remains ahead of GOP nominee Mehmet Oz in the race for Senate, with Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro leading Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano by double digits in the gubernatorial showdown.
Fetterman tops Oz, the cardiac surgeon and celebrity doctor, 46%-40% among those likely to vote in the general election, according to a USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll conducted Sept. 27-30 and released on Tuesday.
An average of all the recent public opinion surveys in the race compiled by Real Clear Politics indicates Fetterman with a 4.3-point advantage over Oz.
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The race between the two high-profile candidates to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is one of a handful across the country that will likely determine if the GOP wins back the Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.
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In the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, Shapiro tops Mastriano 48%-37% among likely voters. The Real Clear Politics average of the most recent polls in the race for governor indicates Shapiro leading Mastriano by 10.4 points.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, noted the high percentage of undecided voters in the poll, saying that “any time you have over 10% undecided, it offers candidates the opportunity to either solidify their lead or stage a comeback.”
Oz was dramatically out raised by Fetterman during the second quarter of fundraising, but on Tuesday morning the Oz campaign announced that the GOP nominee hauled in a whopping $17.2 million during the July-September third quarter of 2022 fundraising.
But $7 million of that haul was a personal loan from Oz, who until the launch of his Senate campaign late last year was the star of the popular daytime TV program “The Dr. Oz Show.” Fetterman has yet to announce his third quarter figures.