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Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz has picked up his pace in Pennsylvania polls—in which he had previously lagged by more than double digits behind Democratic candidate John Fetterman—and rising gas prices across the state could give Oz another boost ahead of next month's midterm elections.
The cost of fuel in Pennsylvania is up to nearly $4 a gallon this week, with Wednesday's prices at $3.930, slightly higher than the national average of $3.922 and higher than last week's state average of $3.772, according to AAA.
Republican strategist Jay Townsend told Newsweek that because these prices are costs Americans see almost daily, and add up quickly for those who commute to work regularly, nearly all voters are sensitive to the prices they pay for gas.
Although Pennsylvania's gas prices have fallen significantly since peaking at $5.071 on June 12, Wednesday's numbers are higher than last month's average of $3.922, AAA reported.
"Plain and simple. Rising gas prices help Republican candidates this year," Townsend said.
While the costs are highest in counties that went for former President Donald Trump in 2020—counties that would likely vote Republican in November—one of the counties seeing some of the highest prices is Allegheny County, a historically blue county that Biden carried with more than 59 percent of the vote. As of Wednesday, drivers in Allegheny County are paying more than $4 a gallon.
Although it remains to be determined whether the rising prices could impact voters in the state's second most-populous county, Oz, like many Republican candidates, has made skyrocketing inflation and prices at the gas pump a main talking point.
"Gas prices are at an 8-year high under Joe Biden. The average American is now paying $3.50 for a full tank of gas - that's an extra $12 to fill your tank than it was a year ago!" Oz tweeted in March.
"If you are tired of paying higher prices at the gas pump and the grocery store - we have to FLIP THE U.S. SENATE IN NOVEMBER," he wrote again in June.
In August, Fetterman was ahead of Oz by 12 percentage points, but the Republican has managed to close the gap by half, trailing behind Fetterman by just 6 points as of Saturday, according to FiveThirtyEight.
RealClearPolitics (RCP) shows Oz with an even closer margin, only 3.7 points behind in the toss-up race as of Sunday. RCP recorded Fetterman with a steady 8.7-point lead throughout August.
And the Cook Political Report recently moved the Senate race back to a "toss-up" just two months after the nonpartisan election forecaster declared the contest "lean Democrat."
"Republicans and Democrats alike admit the race has tightened and that Pennsylvania could be the tipping point for the Senate majority," Cook's Jessica Taylor said.
In response to Cook's latest change, Fetterman's spokesperson previously defended the campaign as "not only still standing but still winning."
Newsweek reached out to Oz's and Fetterman's campaigns for comment.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more