A surge by conservative commentator Kathy Barnette is putting a stop to Pennsylvania's Republican Senate primary just days before voters head to the polls, shaking up one of the crucial midterm election contests this year.
Barnette, who is supported by the anti-tax group Club for Growth and who has made anti-Islamic and anti-gay remarks, has edged former Bridgewater Associates CEO David McCormick in polls and is narrowly behind frontrunner Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor endorsed by ex-President Donald Trump.
Pennsylvania is one of a handful of battleground states that will decide the control of the Senate, along with Arizona, Ohio and others. The GOP is expected to take over the House of Representatives, and betting-market odds give the GOP a high chance of taking the Senate. PredictIt expects to see a 76% chance of Republican control of the Senate and 86% for the GOP in the House.
Here are the Senate races that will be watched in the year 2022 if Republicans win not only the House but also Senate in midterm elections.
Ahead of Tuesday's primary, Barnette s rise has Trump doubling his efforts for Oz, saying in a statement on Thursday that Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats. The ex-president said that Barnette has had many things in her past that have not been properly explained or vetted, without giving examples. On the Democratic side, the poll shows Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has a commanding lead over his nearest challenger, Rep. Conor Lamb. Fetterman supports legalizing recreational marijuana POTX, and is a criminal-justice reform advocate who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, in the 2016 presidential race.
Now see: Dr. Oz, an ex-Bridgewater CEO and the gentle giant How the Pennsylvania Senate race could shake up national politics.
On her Twitter feed and biography, Barnette describes herself as an anti-establishment candidate who grew up in poverty and authored the book Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: Being Black and Conservative in America. Barnette, if elected, would be the first Black Republican woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, according to the Associated Press.
President Joe Biden's agenda would face a setback if his party lost control of both chambers of Congress. According to MarketWatch, Democrats loss of Congress could result in an increase in attempts by the executive branch to regulate sectors such as banks KBE, energy XLE, and healthcare XLV, according to analysts.