OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The Pennsylvania Senate campaign is getting to the nitty gritty and Republicans have reason to be optimistic.
The Republican candidate, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who has been supported by former President Donald Trump, has taken the lead over his Democrat opponent John Fetterman, a recent polls showed, Breitbart news reported.
The Wick Insights poll published Wednesday shows that 49.1 percent of the 1013 likely voters sampled are backing Oz, while 44.6 percent support Fetterman. Another 3.4 percent plan to vote for someone else, and 2.9 percent are undecided. A Fox 29/Insider Advantage poll from earlier this week showed the pair tied after Oz made significant gains in polls in recent months, and the current survey shows he has momentum in the home stretch.
In the governor’s race, Shapiro leads Mastriano by 2.1 percentage points, at 48.5 percent and 46.4 percent, respectively. Just 1.8 percent of respondents plan to vote for another candidate, and 3.4 percent are undecided. The Fox 29/Insider Advantage poll had the republican 7 points back.
In what is more concerning for Democrats, Wick Insights said that fully vaccinated people are responding to the polls more than unvaccinated or those who were vaccinated one time.
“In mid-October, we went into the field not knowing that boosted individuals were answering polls at much higher rates than vaxxed-not-boosted or not-vaxxed. When we recognized this imbalance, we made adjustments and then relied on weighting to correct the rest. Unfortunately, we do not know the exact percentage of likely voters that are boosted, so we just set it to 40% in each state,” the poll said.
“We may move that number up slightly in our next round and customize it in each state, but whatever we set will be at least 15 points lower than what we think is actually being collected right now by probability pollsters. So at the end of the day, compared to the other polls out there I would give this research top marks, but compared to our next round, in which we will design the polling methodology with this knowledge, I would give it a C+. Think of this article more as evidence proving that there is a selection bias that is impacting polling rather than a perfect example of how to treat that bias,” it said.
As questions continue to swirl around the health and fitness of Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman following a significant stroke earlier this year, his campaign released a favorable medical report on Wednesday.
However, it turns out that the doctor who issued the report has donated thousands of dollars to Fetterman’s campaign and those of other Democrats.
The report from Dr. Clifford Chen, Fetterman’s primary care physician, said that the candidate — who is Pennsylvania’s current lieutenant governor — is in good health and will be able to fulfill his senatorial duties. But, the Daily Wire reported, Chen has given more than $1,300 to Fetterman’s campaign and roughly $2,500 to Democrats running in tough, close races around the country.
“Overall, the Lt. Governor is recovering well from his stroke and his health has continued to improve,” Chen wrote, adding that the candidate’s physical exam was normal, with normal strength and coordination in all four extremities.
“He spoke intelligently without cognitive deficit. His speech was normal and he continues to exhibit symptoms of an auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty. Occasional words he will ‘miss’ which seems like he doesn’t hear the word but it is actually not processed properly,” the report continued.
“His hearing of sound such as music is not affected. His communication is significantly improved compared to his first visit assisted by speech therapy which he has attended on a regular basis since the stroke,” the report said.
“I have spoken with his neurologist and cardiologist and he will follow-up with them routinely,” Chen added. “The Lt. Governor takes appropriate medications to optimize his heart condition and prevent future strokes. He also exercises routinely and can walk 4 to 5 miles regularly without difficulty. Overall, Lt. Governor Fetterman is well and shows strong commitment to maintaining good fitness and health practices. He has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
The Daily Wire adds:
But Chen has been an active donor for Fetterman since he announced his candidacy in 2021. Public records from the Federal Elections Commission show that he donated $500 to Fetterman’s campaign in 2021, and a total of $830 in 2022, including a $100 contribution made on September 23.
Chen also has a history of donating to Democrats nationwide since 2014. According to FEC records, he donated more than $3,000 to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign; he donated to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, as well as the Senate campaigns of Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and Nancy Pelosi’s House race. This year, he also donated to Florida Democrat Val Demings’ Senate campaign. He is also frequent contributor to ActBlue, the Democratic Party’s campaign fundraising arm, and several Democratic campaign arms and PACs.
