Sean Duffy reacts to Pennsylvania Senate primary race
Former congressman Sean Duffy (R) on Dr. Oz and Dave McCormick's tight Senate race as Pennsylvania Republicans await election results and a potential recount.
With the landslide victory of Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman over establishment darling Conor Lamb, many are looking to autopsy the failed campaign for insight.
Fetterman easily won the Democratic nomination for senator Tuesday in the fight to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey in a crucial battleground state. Fetterman's wild success over Lamb is not a simple development to explain – not long ago many believed Lamb was thoroughly prepared to take the nomination. But as time went on, polling and voter outreach began to show Lamb's campaign was not up to snuff. Now, commentators are saying there are lessons to be learned.
"It’s one of the worst campaigns I’ve ever seen run," Democratic strategist Mike Mikus told McClatchy DC in a scathing breakdown of the campaign's failure. "Strategically it’s been mind-boggling to watch this. They completely blew an opportunity."
Conor Lamb, Democratic Senate candidate, takes a photo with a voter and her children, at a polling location in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. (Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
OZ, MCCORMICK, GO INTO OVERTIME IN PENNSYLVANIA'S GOP SENATE SHOWDOWN
"Conor should be the nominee and it’s the campaign’s fault," Mikus added.
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman campaigns for U.S. Senate at Joseph A. Hardy Connellsville Airport on May 10, 2022, in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Many highlighted the slew of endorsements Lamb received compared to Fetterman. A semi-viral tweet from reporter Nathan McDermott compared Lamb and Fetterman's endorsements and showed overwhelming support from the political establishment for Lamb.
In 2018, Biden campaigned with Lamb, likening the younger man to his beloved son Beau, who died of brain cancer. Lamb won a special election in a GOP-held district that year and was endorsed by the Philadelphia Inquirer as the more electable of the two candidates.
Many are now considering Fetterman's victory a confirmation that voters are not interested in centrist or moderate candidates in the style of Lamb.
Fetterman, who backed Bernie Sanders in 2016, has been critical of Biden and earlier this year initially turned down a chance to appear with the president, signaling his lack of support. More recently, he has begrudgingly said he would "embrace" Biden, though he still rails at the president’s stalled agenda.
"Seems like Manchin actually gave base Dems a useful model for understanding why 'centrism' sucks," political commentator Krystal Ball tweeted Wednesday. "Voters told the [New York Times] they saw Conor Lamb as 'another Joe Manchin.'"
Even the unpleasant surprise of a minor stroke before the election did not set Fetterman back, and the nominee now assures his voters he will make a full recovery.
Despite the loss, Lamb has been gracious in his defeat, immediately voicing his support for Fetterman.
"John’s vote in the Senate is essential to protect this democracy, and he will have my vote in November. I will do everything I can to help Democrats win," Lamb said in his concession.
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In contrast to the Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial primary, the Republicans' Senate primary is anything but a landslide.
Vote counting resumed Wednesday morning in Pennsylvania’s high-stakes and extremely combustible and expensive GOP Senate primary, with Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick virtually deadlocked.
Some counties in the crucial general election battleground have yet to tabulate mail-in ballots, and the counting of absentee, provisional, and overseas and military ballots could take days.
Lancaster County was among those counting votes on Wednesday. Election officials told Fox News that by lunchtime, 4,700 ballots had been counted, with plans to get through 16,000.
Oz held a razor-thin advantage over McCormick on Wednesday morning as the vote count continued. But the margin is currently well within the 0.5% that triggers an automatic recount mandated by the state’s top election official. By law, Pennsylvania's secretary of state must order a recount by 5 p.m. May 26 if the margin stays within .05%.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Liz Peek contributed to this report.
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