Mehmet Oz tried to gaslight Fox News host, Bill hemmer, about his standing in the polls. It did not go well:
A Suffolk University/USA Today poll released on June 15 found Fetterman leading the Trump-backed Oz by 9%. Meanwhile, a Suffolk/USA poll on Pennsylvania’s other big statewide race — the gubernatorial race — was closer, showing Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, leading far-right MAGA Republican and “Stop the Steal” extremist Doug Mastriano by 4%.
Hemmer noted that Fetterman is taking a break from campaigning while recovering from a stroke.
Hemmer told Oz, “John Fetterman is not campaigning. That must be an enormous advantage for you, at least in the early stage. Seems pretty obvious. So, if that's the case, not to win a race like this would be a shocker.”
Oz responded, “I think I should be favored. I think I probably am.”
Hemmer, however, reminded Oz that Fetterman is the one ahead in the Suffolk/USA Today poll.
“But that poll suggests you're trailing significantly,” Hemmer told Oz.
At least Oz is willing to go on the air and lie, unlike his GOP colleague who’s running for Governor:
State Sen. Doug Mastriano is the first candidate for Pennsylvania governor to largely shun traditional news media, from newspapers to TV news.
The Franklin County Republican won a crowded GOP primary last month relying almost solely on social media, especially frequent video posts on Facebook Live, and appearances on selective right wing cable shows, including Fox News but also many smaller outlets appealing to the most conservative parts of the electorate.
Mastriano is facing a better known and Democratic candidate who’s been preparing for this campaign for years, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
By the day of the May 17 primary, Shapiro had amassed an $18 million campaign war chest that dwarfed the shoestring budget that powered Mastriano’s campaign.
But money clearly wasn’t the key to Mastriano’s victory. His leading opponents – such as former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman and millionaire businessman Dave White – heavily outspent Mastriano. Besides Facebook and conservative TV and radio, Mastriano tirelessly traveled the state starting early last year to introduce himself to grassroots conservatives, many of whom were mobilized for the first time by Donald Trump.
“I’ve never seen a major candidate for office eschew mainstream media in lieu of social media, ever, at any level.,” said Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University who studies right-wing media.
Avoiding mainstream media in the general election is a risk, she said.
“Going social means you are relying on micro targeted ads and then spread by people who think alike,” Dagnes said.
“But that doesn’t expand the reach. It only reaches the people who like you in the first place,” she added..
It may be a play by Mastriano aimed solely at turning out the same GOP base that helped Trump carry the state in 2016 and lose narrowly in 2020.
“Maybe that’s enough, it’s about turnout,” Dagnes said. Mastriano is using social media to get “his followers and like-minded Republicans to the polls.”
No word on yet if Oz and Mastriano will appear together but Fetterman and Shapiro are already campaigning together:
With the stakes so high, Fetterman and Shapiro are working toward a united front ahead of the fall election.
They are participating in a coordinated campaign funded and run by national and state party organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Together, these groups could send more money to Pennsylvania than anywhere else to register and persuade voters as part of what the state party calls “the largest and earliest midterm coordinated campaign in Pennsylvania history.”
Such help from national organizations may be badly needed in a big swing state.
After backing Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential campaign, Pennsylvania swung to Joe Biden in 2020 — but only by about 1 percentage point. And Democrats gearing up for the 2022 campaign are already facing huge challenges.
Fetterman suffered a stroke just days before winning his party’s nomination for the Senate race last month and has not yet returned to the campaign trail, or given much indication when he will do so. And both candidates will be running in a difficult environment for Democrats, weighed down by Biden’s unpopularity and rising prices for everyday goods, food and gasoline.
Aides to both campaigns say the coordination has already begun.
Fetterman’s and Shapiro’s campaigns say they have been in touch often, and Shapiro said he has texted with Fetterman since Fetterman’s stroke.
Campaign aides say they expect the men will appear together at bigger events, such as rallies, regional campaign office openings or party events to raise money, help boost turnout or highlight down-ticket candidates.
Earlier this month, Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, stood in for him at an event with Shapiro where they spoke at the opening of a coordinated campaign office in Pittsburgh.
“I look forward to getting John out here, and I know he’s chomping at the bit to get out, too,” Shapiro said Friday. Fetterman’s campaign said in a statement that “we look forward” to campaigning with Shapiro and helping other Democrats on the fall ballot.
Health and Democracy are on the ballot this year and we need to get ready to keep Pennsylvania Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Fetterman, Shapiro and these Pennsylvania Democrats campaigns:
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