Tenth of Pennsylvanians to Vote Oz for Senate, Shapiro for Governor: Poll

Pennsylvania voters are experiencing a partisan split that might impact multiple major races in the midterm elections on November 8.

An Emerson College/The Hill poll of likely Pennsylvania voters published Thursday showed Republican Mehmet Oz leading Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman by 2 percentage points, 48 percent to 46 percent, with 4 percent undecided.

Oz might also get a significant bump from perhaps an unlikely source: voters of Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling, said that about 9 percent of Shapiro voters will split their tickets and also vote for Oz.

Male and female voters will also impact both races in different ways.

Men who were surveyed said they would break for Oz by 10 points and for Shapiro by 3. Women showed a 4-point advantage toward Fetterman but a 13-point preference for Shapiro.

Shapiro leads his Republican counterpart, Donald Trump-endorsed state Senator Doug Mastriano, 50 percent to 41 percent. Five percent remain undecided.

Statewide voters have waffled back and forth on the contentious Senate race, viewed as one of the closest in the country that will help determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress.

The poll conducted between October 28 and 31 reported that 93 percent of respondents heard, saw or read about the lone debate between the candidates, including nearly 70 percent of respondents who were familiar with it "a lot."

Of those expected voters, 44 percent said the debate improved their opinion of Oz while 31 percent expressed no change of mind.

Voters' response to Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May and participated in the debate using closed captioning, was stronger. The poll showed that exactly 50 percent of voters said the debate worsened their opinion of the Democrat.

"Of those who say they have heard, seen, or read a lot about the debate, Oz leads Fetterman 55 percent to 41 percent," Kimball said. "Among those who have heard, seen, or read only a little or nothing about the debate, Fetterman leads 56 percent to 28 percent."

Oz has repeatedly hammered Fetterman on crime—in the debate, on the campaign trail and on social media. Oz tweeted Thursday that "Fetterman is focused on releasing murderers from prison" while Oz fights for seniors affected by record-high inflation.

Fetterman has defended his crime record, hitting Oz for months on his abortion position.

Respondents' biggest issues were the economy (51 percent), threats to democracy (14 percent) and abortion access (9 percent).

Newsweek reached out to all four campaigns for comment.