How John Fetterman and Dr. Oz Are Polling Days Before Pennsylvania Vote

The midterm elections are less than a week away, and the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania is one of the most-watched contests in the country as polls have tightened.

Democratic Lt. Governor John Fetterman is facing Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in a crucial race that could determine which party controls the Senate in January 2023.

Fetterman had been favorite to win the seat, which is held by retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey, but Oz has narrowed the gap, and poll tracker FiveThirtyEight now rates the Pennsylvania Senate election a dead heat.

A new Monmouth University poll shows Fetterman remains ahead of Oz, but the celebrity heart surgeon is gaining ground on the Democrat with just days until the midterms on November 8.

The poll found that 39 percent of respondents said they would definitely vote for Fetterman, while 9 percent said they would probably vote for him. That combined 48 percent support is the same as Monmouth's findings in early October and down slightly on Fetterman's 49 percent support in its September poll.

When it came to Oz, 32 percent said they would definitely vote for him and 12 percent said they would probably support the Republican. That's a combined 44 percent, which is up slightly from 43 percent in early October and 39 percent in September.

Monmouth University's polling report released on Wednesday said it was "worth noting that Oz's 'definite' support has increased by 7 points since early October, while Fetterman's 'definite' support has only gone up by 2 points."

The poll was conducted from October 27 to 31 among 608 Pennsylvania registered voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.

The survey also found that the October 25 debate between Oz and Fetterman appears to have had a limited impact on voters' intentions, with just 3 percent saying they were reconsidering their candidate choice because of what they saw in the debate, though that rose to 7 percent among independents.

Another 22 percent of respondents said the debate raised serious concerns but did not make them reconsider their choice. Fetterman used a close-captioning system during the debate as he continues to recover from a stroke in May 2022, and his health has been a major talking point in a contentious campaign.

Analysis from FiveThirtyEight rates the Pennsylvania Senate race as a dead heat and shows that Oz has been gaining on Fetterman.

Fetterman had a 55 percent chance of victory in the race as of Wednesday, according to the poll tracker, while Oz's chance of winning was 45 percent.

On October 26, FiveThirtyEight gave Fetterman a 60 percent chance of winning the Senate race and found that Oz had just a 40 percent chance of victory.

Newsweek has asked the Oz and Fetterman campaigns for comment.