>Democrats hold the advantage in battleground Pennsylvania, as GOP candidates haven’t closed the sale with Republican voters.
>In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat John Fetterman holds an 11-point lead over Republican Mehmet Oz, 47%-36%, in a Fox News poll released Thursday. Three percent back independent candidate Everett Stern and 13% support someone else or are undecided.
>The candidates are vying for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
>A big problem for Oz is consolidating GOP support. By a 16-point margin, fewer Republicans stay loyal to him (73%) than Democrats to Fetterman (89%). Same story on favorable ratings, as many more Democrats view Fetterman positively (88%) than Republicans view Oz (67%).
>Just 35% of those backing Oz say they support him enthusiastically, while 45% have reservations. For Fetterman, 68% back him enthusiastically and only 18% hesitate.
>Both candidates have vulnerabilities -- Oz is ridiculed as a carpetbagger from New Jersey, while Fetterman suffered a stroke earlier in the campaign. But twice as many are concerned Oz isn’t familiar enough with the state to be an effective senator (52%) as are worried Fetterman isn’t healthy enough to serve (23%). That difference holds true among the party faithful, as about three times as many Republicans (22%) are worried about Oz being up to the job as Democrats are about Fetterman (8%).
>Oz is ahead by 8 points among men, 10 points among rural voters, and 48 points among White evangelical Christians. Fetterman leads by 27 points among women, 33 points among moderates, and 23 points among suburban voters.
>Overall, Fetterman is better liked, with about half of voters having a favorable opinion of him (49% favorable, 34% unfavorable) and just over one-third viewing Oz positively (35%-55%).
Keep in mind, Fetterman has pledged to ban fracking, which is a huge source of jobs in Pennsylvania.
The Republicans are going to struggle in the senate midterms.
