HARRISBURG, Pa. – The week in statewide politics included a federal judge recommending the dismissal of a suit barring leading GOP gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s name from the ballot, due to his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The week also had Mastriano speaking at a Gettysburg conference that promotes QAnon and 9/11 conspiracy theories.
During a debate this week the current state senator also said if elected governor, he would “clean the election logs,” and have all 9 million Pennsylvania voters re-register.
Fellow GOP candidate Jake Corman put forth a voter integrity plan that would require voter ID, have all legal challenges be resolved before certifying election results, and make the Senate, not the Department of State, responsible for certifying all elections.
He also stated he’s against solar farms, as he says they take up valuable farmland and drive up prices.
In the race for U.S. Senate, a Monmouth University poll shows cracks in support for Dr. Mehmet Oz. While Oz may have the highest name recognition he also has the highest unfavorability rating among voters.
Dave McCormick has the highest favorability rating at plus 36. Kathy Barnette is second at plus 32, and Oz is third at plus 11.
On the Democratic side it continues to be John Fetterman’s race to lose, with a 68% favorability rating compared to Conor Lamb’s 51%.
Malcolm Kenyatta is separating himself as the most progressive candidate out of the three. He’s the only one who would abolish the Electoral College, expand the Supreme Court, and issue no new permits for natural gas extraction.
In a debate this week Lamb was the only one to blame major spending by the Biden administration for contributing to inflation.
Josh Shapiro, the lone Democrat running for governor, pledged to resist any effort to restrict mail-in voting and to keep abortions legal.
In the race for the 7th Congressional District in the Lehigh Valley, Lisa Scheller continues to be the favorite on the Republican side. Despite Susan Wild seeking her third term, several national agencies have the district as a toss-up come fall.