Poll: GOP Candidates Oz, Mastriano Face Uphill Battles In Pennsylvania

Pennslyvania Republican nominees for governor and U.S. Senate – Doug Mastriano and Dr. Mehmet Oz –both face uphill battles in their general election races, according to a poll.

Blueprint Polling’s survey, released Tuesday, shows Mastriano faces a double-digit deficit among likely voters in his race with Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Mastriano, a state senator, drew 39.4 percent of the response, while 50.7 percent of respondents backed Shapiro.

During the Republican primary, Shapiro ran pro-Mastriano ads in an effort to bolster his chances for the nomination, indicating Mastriano was his preferred matchup in the general election to former Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) and the rest of the field. Mastriano ended up earning former President Donald Trump’s much-coveted endorsement and doubled the vote total of Barletta, his closest competitor.

A Cygnal survey from late June showed a much different race, with Mastriano within three points of his opponent, at 45.3 percent and 48.2 percent, respectively.

Oz is faring slightly better than Mastriano in the BlueprintPolling survey but is still staring at a nine-point deficit to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Of respondents, 39.6 percent said they would vote Oz, and 48.9 percent backed Fetterman. Like Mastriano, the celebrity doctor also received Trump’s backing, but the primary race proved to be much closer, with his opponent, David McCormick, conceding near the end of a recount effort. The Cygnal survey from last month showed a much tighter race between Oz and Fetterman, with the Republican nominee at 43.8 percent and Fetterman at 48.2 percent.

While the latest polling does not favor Oz, Decision Desk’s election forecast model rates the Pennsylvania Senate race as the most competitive in the country, giving the celebrity doctor a 46.2 percent chance of winning outgoing Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R-PA) seat. Decision Desk’s next closest Senate race is in Nevada, where the Republican candidate, former Attorney General Adam Laxalt, seeks to unseat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

This poll was conducted from July 19-21 and sampled 712 voters through landlines and mobile phones. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.67 percent.