Kathy Barnette neck-and-neck with Trump-endorsed Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary, poll shows
 
 
Kathy Barnette has surged in the Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary, shooting past former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and drawing almost even with the Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz, a recent Trafalgar Group poll shows.
The poll shows Oz in first place with 24.5 percent of the vote, Barnette in second with 23.2 percent, and McCormick in third with 21.6 percent.
Barnette — a Black army veteran, author, and political commentator — previously ran for the House of Representatives in 2020. Politico suggests that Barnette "is likely benefiting from a smashmouth primary that features Oz and McCormick going nuclear on each other on TV." Steve Bannon, previously an adviser to former President Donald Trump, has described Barnette's political alignment as "ultra-MAGA."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
 
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During a primary debate held at Grove City College on Wednesday, Barnette came out swinging. First, she took aim at Dr. Oz's pro-choice past, announcing that she was the product of a rape that took place when her mother was 11 and that she "was not just a lump of cells."
She then accused both Oz and McCormick of being "globalists" with ties to the World Economic Forum, which she said aims to impose a Chinese-style social credit system on the United States.
The Trafalgar Group surveyed 1,080 likely GOP primary voters between May 6 and May 6 with an error margin of 2.99 percent.
Pennsylvania's primaries will be held on Tuesday, May 17, after which the GOP nominee will likely face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the general election.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
- 
 Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariff Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax 
- 
 Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICE Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch 
- 
 Shutdown stalemate nears key pain points Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff 
- 
 Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan ad Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy 
- 
 NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footage NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges 
- 
 Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East Wing Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction 
- 
 Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 more Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters 
- 
 Trump demands millions from his administration Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations 



