HARISBURG, Pennsylvania – The top five candidates in the GOP Senate primary in the Pennsylvania Senate faced off in the state capital on Monday night, just three weeks before the May 17 nomination competition.
The event, which was the first time all five contenders appeared in a televised debate, included former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick, renowned surgeon Mehmet Oz, conservative commentator Katie Barnett, former vice governor’s candidate Jeff Bartos and former US ambassador to the United States. Sands.
Candidates threw their elbows during the one-hour debate in hopes of gaining even the slightest household advantage until the primary, with the debate largely turned into personal attacks on past political positions where the candidates lived and their position with former President Trump. .
Here are five conclusions from the debate:
Oz, McCormick are fighting on stage
Oz and McCormick did not hold back during the prime time debate.
McCormick spent much of the debate seeking to portray Oz as a liberal, citing his past positions on issues including abortion and gun rights, while Oz countered the attacks, repeatedly emphasizing Trump’s surprise approval last week.
“Mehmet has deviated from every major issue,” McCormick said.
For his part, Oz said at one point that McCormick “can’t pull the wave.” [Trump’s] eyes “and called him” dishonest Dave. ” The former TV presenter said that he won Trump’s support precisely because he is conservative.
“The reason Mehmet keeps talking about President Trump’s approval is that he can’t run for office and for his own record,” McCormick later said. “The problem, Doctor, is that there is no miracle cure for flip-flops.”
Both books illustrate the strength that Trump’s late approval had in the race.
Oz has staged a coup with Trump’s imperatives, but now he needs to sink into the minds of the Republican’s tougher flank, which may be wary of his previous positions, including support for so-called red flag laws on firearms.
McCormick, meanwhile, needs to work even harder to promote his Republican integrity.
Sparring was a continuation of the battle that has been at the heart of the campaign in recent weeks.
Oz and McCormick have been the two leaders since entering the race, and they have faced each other in everything from their ties to China to their personal history in Pennsylvania. This fight is expected to escalate only by May 17.
Oz is looking to close questions about past comments, background
McCormick was not the only candidate to pursue Oz for his previous comments on hot cultural issues.
Barnett and Sands also referred to the surgeon, describing him as conservative in some of the Republican Party’s most important issues.
“Oz is Turkey in the first place,” Sands said, referring to Oz’s previous service in the Turkish army, which he said was “obliged” to exercise dual citizenship there.
Barnett attracted Oz’s appeal as part of his long-standing name from his time as a talk show host, which she said could be reduced in both directions.
“People know he’s not a conservative,” she said.
Oz followed a consistent line during the debate, saying he retained his dual citizenship so he could visit his ailing mother and defended his conservative qualities, citing Trump’s support.
“President Trump has supported me,” Oz said. “The first point he made about why was that I was a conservative, America’s first Republican.
Oz also suppressed criticism that he had spent a limited amount of time before his campaign in Pennsylvania, saying he lived very close to the state just across the border from New Jersey and also attended the University of Pennsylvania.
Trump’s shadow is great
In addition to Oz’s support for Trump, other candidates have discussed the former president at length, both in terms of his approval and his impact on the Republican Party as a whole.
Other candidates sought to reduce the impact that Trump’s approval would have on stimulating Oz, saying he may have been misled.
“President Trump doesn’t always get the best advice,” said Sands, who was an ambassador to the former president. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.”
Candidates also discussed whether it was time for Republicans to move out of the 2020 election, as Trump continues to claim – without evidence – that widespread fraud has won him victory.
“We can’t move forward,” Oz said, while others turned directly to allegations of fraud.
“The 2020 election was a catalyst for what we see now,” Bartosz said, adding that the nation is fighting because Joe Biden is “president.”
Barnett, perhaps the most conservative candidate in the primary, suggested that the Republican Party and the Make America Great Again movement are bigger than Trump.
“MAGA does not belong to President Trump,” she said. “MAGA belongs to the people.”
Lower level candidates are looking for a moment of breakthrough
Barnett, Bartos and Sands, all of whom need to step up the election in the remaining few days of the race, were clearly looking for breakthroughs.
Barnett and Sands got into a heated argument during the 2020 race, with Sands hitting Barnett over her failed bid for the House in 2020.
“She lost by 20 points and was not stolen by 20 points. We need someone who can win this election, “Sands said.
“Are you telling me the 2020 election was above par?” Barnett said, suggesting that Sands was opposed to Republicans, who still insisted the fraud had darkened the 2020 cycle.
Bartos, meanwhile, has not had a direct dispute with any of the candidates, but has repeatedly tried to spread the word that he is best qualified to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate after raising money to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m running to save Maine Street, Pennsylvania,” Bartos said, before claiming to have spent more time in Keystone State than his rivals. “You can’t help Main Street Pennsylvania if you can’t find Main Street Pennsylvania.”
It doesn’t change the game
In the end, the debate is unlikely to fundamentally change the dynamics of the race.
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The arguments presented are largely an extension of what the candidates said during the election campaign, and no candidate has knocked out or made any major setbacks – likely to leave Oz and McCormick at the top of the polls.
“I don’t think anyone put their feet in their mouths,” said Pennsylvania veteran GOP strategist Chris Nicholas after the debate.
“There were no bad performances,” Nicholas said. “Everyone did well.”
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