Democrat Mark Kelly takes an eight-point lead in Arizona and Ron Johnson slips in Wisconsin
A new poll shows Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly opening up an eight-point lead over his Trump-backed opponent Blake Masters, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warns Republicans might not take back the Senate.
Kelly’s lead in a new Fox News poll comes as the Democratic campaign arm has already begun blasting out ads saying Masters, a venture capitalist, is ‘not like normal Arizonans’ and claiming he has ‘dangerous beliefs and plans that are deeply out of step with the state’s values.’
Kelly is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the party’s 50-50 majority.
Another new Fox News poll shows incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson trailing his Democratic opponent, Mandela Barnes, 50 to 46 per cent. That follows a Marquette University poll that had Barnes, the state’s 35-year-old lieutenant governor, up 7.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly holds an eight-point lead in a new Fox News poll in his state, which Joe Biden narrowly carried
It comes in a state that President Joe Biden won by a single percentage point, and that Donald Trump carried four years earlier.
Johnson held a hearing on election fraud before Jan. 6th, and signed a statement saying he intended to object to votes certified for Joe Biden. The House Jan. 6th committee revealed that Johnson’s chief of staff tried to deliver a slate of pro-Trump electors to Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the count. Johnson brushed off the incident when it was revealed.
The polls, released Thursday evening, came on a day when McConnell played down Republican chances of retaking the Senate with comments that focused on ‘candidate quality.’
Democrats Mark Kelly and Mandela Barnes lead their GOP opponents in new Fox News polls
Sen. Ron Johnson, a Trump loyalist, has slipped in two consecutive polls
Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters trails Kelly by 8 points
But he made his comments at a time when many senior Republicans worry that former President Donald Trump has promoted celebrity candidates, with a high profile but no political track record, over more impressive campaigners.
‘I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,’ McConnell said, referring to the GOP’s effort to retake the Democratic House.
Trump’s picks, such as TV physician Dr. Oz and former sports star Herschel Walker, are struggling to build momentum with less than three months until the midterms.
‘I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,’ the Republican Senate leader said in Florence, Kentucky, at a Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce lunch.
‘I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different — they’re statewide, candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome,’ said Republican leader Mitch McConnell during an event in his home state of Kentucky
In Ohio, J.D. Vance won through a tight primary with the help of Trump, but is now running neck and neck with Democratic candidate Tim Ryan in a state that has trended Republican
First-time candidates such as Herschel Walker, left, and Dr Oz won their way through Senate primaries with the backing of Donald Trump, but are struggling against Democratic opponents
‘Right now, we have a 50-50 Senate and a 50-50 country, but I think when all is said and done this fall, we’re likely to have an extremely close Senate, either our side up slightly or their side up slightly.’
Parties that control the White House, Senate and House usually face a drubbing in midterm elections.
Add in President Joe Biden’s historic unpopularity and Democrats had assumed that 2022 would follow that pattern.
But in recent weeks they have claimed a handful of legislative victories, while watching Republican primaries deliver wins to candidates backed by Trump, but opposed by other GOP heavy hitters.
In some cases, Trump’s endorsement was enough to put them over the top. But they are generally untested, first time candidates.
In Pennsylvania’s open Senate race, Dr. Oz is trailing far behind Democratic candidate John Fetterman, who has found his opponent to be an easy target for social media burns.
As a result, on Thursday the nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed its rating from ‘toss up’ to ‘lean Democrat.’
Fetterman’s campaign has successfully branded Oz an out-of-state carpetbagger, and raised money from a video in which the TV celebrity muddled the name of a grocery store while shopping for crudité.
‘Fancy French appetizer plates aside, a simple glance at Oz compared to the hoodie-and-shorts clad tattooed Fetterman, and it’s not surprising to discern who comes across as more authentic and relatable to voters,’ the Cook Political Report concluded.
