As Oz Campaign Goes Quiet, Fetterman Goes for the Knockout

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, fulfilling their ideological promises to America’s extreme political right, GOP candidates in swing districts across the country suddenly became unavailable for comment.

The move makes sense. Overturning Roe may be the pinnacle of judicial manipulation that right wing activists have been seeking for generations, but the decision itself is massively unpopular, and it has GOP candidates running for cover.

John Fetterman, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania and current candidate for Senate is using the GOP duck and cover strategy as an opportunity to paint his opponent, TV doctor Mehmet Oz, as disconnected from Pennsylvania and its people. And it appears to be working.

Dr. Oz meets the necessary qualifications needed to run for office in the state, but as a lifelong New Jersey resident, he faces credibility issues with Pennsylvania voters, many of whom see him as a celebrity carpetbagger.

Fetterman is doing everything he can to reinforce that perception of his opponent.

The attacks have gone almost completely unanswered by the Oz campaign, emboldening the Fetterman team to attack and troll Oz in bigger and bolder ways. Over the weekend, for example, Fetterman hired a plane to fly a banner over a New Jersey beach near Oz’s home. The banner read “Hey Dr. Oz. Welcome Home to NJ!”

Turning the race into a fight between the hometown kid from Braddock and the celebrity carpetbagger from New Jersey is a strategy that is paying off. According to the most recent Suffolk University/USA Today poll, Fetterman holds a nine point lead over Oz.

Put simply, the Oz campaign is on the ropes. If they come out to say anything at all, the first follow up question will be about Roe, and Oz will be forced to give a far-right response that will further damage his campaign. But if his campaign stays dark, he’s just going to keep taking punches thrown by the kid from Braddock with the impressive political left hook.