Conservative groups go against Trump, Oz in Pa. Senate race
HARRISBURG, PA. >> Several prominent conservative groups are getting involved in Pennsylvania's race for U.S. Senate and backing candidate Kathy Barnette as an alternative to Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The anti-tax Club for Growth endorsed Barnette on Wednesday and has begun airing TV ads on her behalf. That follows the anti-abortion Susan B. Anthony List's decision on Tuesday to back Barnette over Oz.
The endorsement by Susan B. Anthony List is timely, with abortion in the headlines, and its backing of Barnette highlighted the story she has told of being the outcome of a rape when her mother was 11.
“Kathy is a courageous advocate for life who exposes the human cost of abortion,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of Susan B. Anthony List, said in a statement.
It's unclear whether the endorsements and advertising will be enough to carry Barnette to the top of the field in Pennsylvania's May 17 primary.
The Club for Growth, for instance, unleashed millions of dollars in advertising against Trump-backed JD Vance in Ohio's GOP Senate primary earlier this month only for the “Hillbilly Elegy” author to go on and win the race by an eight-point margin.
But the growing focus on Barnette suggests anxiety among some conservative and pro-Trump circles that Oz doesn't sufficiently reflect their views on abortion, guns or the culture wars the GOP is waging against Democrats.
An Oz loss next week would mark another setback for Trump after his preferred candidate for governor was defeated in Nebraska's Republican primary on Tuesday.
Trump remains the most popular figure among Republican voters and his endorsement helped pull Vance to victory in the final weeks of the Ohio campaign. Both Trump-backed congressional candidates also won in West Virginia's primary.
A Fox News poll released Monday, however, suggested a tight race in Pennsylvania's Senate election.
The poll found 22% of GOP primary voters supported Oz with former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and Barnette bunched together at 20% and 19%. About one-fifth of voters, or 18%, said they were undecided.
If elected, the 50-year-old would be the first Black woman Pennsylvanians sent to the U.S. Senate.