John Fetterman Outpaces Mehmet Oz in 3rd Quarter Fundraising with $22 Million

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), the Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate, outpaced Republican candidate Mehmet Oz in fundraising for the third quarter, according to the latest numbers.

Fetterman’s campaign announced it raised $22 million in the third quarter, which is double the $11 million raised in the previous fundraising period. Fetterman’s $22 million is reportedly the most raised in a single quarter by a Pennsylvania Senate candidate.

After the fundraising numbers were released, Fetterman’s campaign manager Brendan McPhillips threw a jab at Oz’s campaign in a statement.

“We’re going up against an ultra-millionaire who has poured millions of dollars of his own money into this campaign, and who has the backing of the special interest groups that are terrified of John,” McPhillips said. “The people of Pennsylvania have John’s back and that’s something even Dr. Oz’s millions could never buy.”

Fetterman’s fundraising numbers follow a late plea for help after pro-Oz Republican groups were outspending their Democrat counterparts.

McPhillips issued a “wake-up call” about Republicans “significantly outspending” and “out-communicating” their side, according to an internal memo obtained by Politico last month.

Oz’s campaign reported $17.2 million raised in the third quarter. However, $7 million came from Oz as a personal loan to the campaign. Still, Oz campaign national finance director Michael Adams is proud of their fundraising efforts.

“Our momentum is building every day, and we’re uniting Republicans, Independents, and Democrats who want to see a change in Washington,” Adams said. “We’re proud of our success this quarter, and we’re just getting started.”

Although Fetterman maintained a significant lead against Oz early on, recent polling show Oz has closed the gap, bringing the race to a statistical tie.

An Emerson College poll released last week found that 45 percent of Pennsylvanians support Fetterman, while Oz is close behind with 43 percent support. An additional eight percent of Pennsylvanians remain undecided.

If those undecided voters are unaffiliated with any major party, Oz will likely take the advantage, as 46 percent of independents support Oz, compared to just 36 percent who support Fetterman.

Fetterman, who has struggled with speech issues since having a stroke in May, agreed to debate Oz just two weeks before election day on October 25.

Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.