Radical John Fetterman’s hometown paper on Sunday endorsed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz for Pennsylvania’s next senator.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette announced it believes “Oz is the better bet for Pennsylvania” for a variety of reasons, including concerns over the Democrat’s lack of real work experience, maturity, and anti-fracking policies:
Mr. Fetterman’s life experience and maturity are also concerns. He has lived off his family’s money for much of his life. That has allowed him to do some good things, including mentoring disadvantaged young people and working to improve community policing and economic development in Braddock. That work, along with his six-foot-eight frame, shaved head and tattoos, attracted national media attention. Still, Mr. Fetterman, despite his hoodies and shorts, has little experience in holding real jobs or facing the problems of working people.
In 2013, as the mayor of Braddock, Mr. Fetterman, after hearing gunshots, pulled a shotgun on an unarmed Black jogger. It was, we believe, an honest mistake. Still, it’s troubling that Mr. Fetterman never apologized for it. And during Tuesday’s debate, confronted with his 2018 statement that he didn’t support fracking, Mr. Fetterman still said, with a straight face, that he always supported fracking.
The Post-Gazette also pointed to Oz’s experience in low income neighborhoods and potential willingness to not always agree with establishment leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY):
Unlike most Republican politicians, candidate Oz spent a lot of time in poor urban neighborhoods, talking to people and, most important, listening and learning. He is more moderate on some issues than portrayed. We don’t believe he will be a stooge for the far right or Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. We hope that Mr. Oz will disappoint them and serve in the Pennsylvania tradition of moderate Republicans, such U.S. Sens. John Heinz, Hugh Scott, and Richard Schweiker.
The endorsement comes after the two candidates debated on Tuesday. The debate was widely seen to be a victory for Oz, who successfully highlighted Fetterman’s radical positions of anti-franking, abortions up until birth, and soft-on-crime law enforcement policies. Oz’s betting odds increased 20 points after the debate.
WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 03: Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate and former TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks as former Prseident Donald Trump listens at a rally to support local candidates at the Mohegan Sun Arena on September 03, 2022 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Trump still denies that he lost the election against President Joe Biden and has encouraged his supporters to doubt the election process. Trump has backed Senate candidate Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial hopeful Doug Mastriano. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Pennsylvania Senate race is one of seven battleground states that will determine the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections. To retake the Senate, Republicans need to hold Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and retake either Arizona, Nevada, Washington State, or Georgia to have a one seat majority in the Senate.
Recent polling shows Oz holds a slim lead over Fetterman.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.