On Wednesday morning, Politico admitted that the momentum has changed in favor of Republican Senate candidates in two key races.
The liberal outlet acknowledged that, while Democrats were looking really good over the summer, the Republican messaging is helping the GOP in both Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, making the Republicans’ chances of winning the majority in the Senate that much more likely.
“After a grueling summer, Republicans are finally making headway in protecting their top two firewalls in the race for the Senate,” the outlet reported. “Holding onto at least one of the GOP-held seats in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — ideally both — is critical if the party wants to flip the Senate. But Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and Pennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz began the general election with poor favorability ratings and a spending disadvantage on TV.”
“By contrast, the Democratic candidates, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, had a great summer,” the report continued. “Barnes’ top opponents in the Democratic primary all dropped out and endorsed him, giving him a head start on bringing the party together for the fall. Fetterman won glowing headlines for trolling Oz as an out-of-touch carpetbagger. Both men were leading in polls.”
But things have changed. While Johnson was trailing in the polls a month ago, he is now back in the lead. Oz is still behind Fetterman, but he has successfully closed the gap in recent polling.
Strategists from both parties cited the onslaught of television advertisements that portrayed Democratic candidates as soft on crime as the primary motivating factor.
“But the shift toward Republicans in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania puts them on more solid footing than they were in those states over the summer,” explains Politico. “If the GOP can hold onto both seats, the party only needs to defeat one Democrat in another state — likely Nevada or Georgia — to take back a majority in the Senate.”
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