PA GOP SENATE CANDIDATES ESCALATE ATTACKS AGAINST EACH OTHER

News | Press Releases · Dec 23, 2021

“This is Pennsylvania, not Hollywood.” 

“Do we want somebody who has made a career and outsourcing jobs to China”

“two out-of-state guys who have done more for China’s economy and Turkey’s army than they have for the people of Pennsylvania.” 

PENNSYLVANIA – The Pennsylvania GOP’s “trainwreck” Senate primary — which was plunged into chaos after the previous frontrunner was driven out of the race due to attacks from his own party — continues to escalate as the field of of well-funded and flawed candidates end the year with a fresh round of nasty attacks against each other.

Here’s the latest developments in the Republican infighting:

On Mehmet Oz:

  • National Review, Behind Dr. Oz’s Curtain: “Oz’s links to Turkey’s authoritarian Justice and Development Party (AKP) extend to foreign agents and proxies accused of operating a secret lobby in the U.S. and spying on American citizens. These associations raise urgent questions about the Senate candidate’s loyalty to an illiberal, often antagonistic foreign government that finds itself increasingly at odds with American interests.”
  • Townhall, Dr. Oz Continues to Cause Confusion Over His Abortion Stance, Can’t Definitively Say When Life Begins: “Life begins at conception. Period. I’m proud to have been rated Pro-Life by the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and LifePac in 2018, and I will always stand up for the most vulnerable among us, the unborn,” said [Jeff] Bartos. “This is Pennsylvania, not Hollywood. Real Conservative values don’t come from talking points on a teleprompter. In Pennsylvania, we value saying what you mean and meaning what you say.”
  • NYPost, Dr. Oz picks up key endorsement in Pennsylvania Senate race: “‘There’s carpetbagging then there is this guy trying to buy a U.S. Senate seat in a state he doesn’t live in, doesn’t know, and can’t fight for effectively,’ a spokesman for the Super PAC, Jobs for Our Future, told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. ‘Oz doesn’t know the first thing about conservative Pennsylvania values and primary voters are about to find out how out of touch he is.’”
  • Statement from Jeff Bartos Campaign: “Hey @DrOz, glad you were able to find Lancaster – (know it can be a haul from North Jersey). Missed you last year when we were working to save over 1000 of these Main Street businesses across PA. I grew up right next door, I’d be happy to show you around next time you’re in town!”
  • Statement from Kathy Barnette Campaign: “I had no part in my conception. I didn’t choose ‘how’ I was conceived. But, I deserved the right to live. Mehmet Oz may have difficulty seeing the value in my life, but I’m here to tell you that my life has value. #LifeStartsAtConception @DrOz”
  • Statement from Keith Rothfus Campaign: “I expected a doctor like @DrOz to know the science of when life begins. It is a scientific fact that life begins at conception. Everyone reading this had their life begin at conception. Believing otherwise denies science.  #prolife #PASen”

On David McCormick:

  • The Dom Giordano Program, Interview with Congressman Guy Reschenthaler: “Do we want somebody who has made a career and outsourcing jobs to China, bringing capital into Communist China…this is a disqualifier. It should be a disqualifier if anyone is bringing money into China. The voters are going to make it a disqualifier. Anybody that’s been capitulating to the Chinese, acquiescing to the Chinese Communist Party, they should not be able to represent a state in the United States Senate.”
  • Washington Examiner, Dr. Oz Senate bid bolstered by new super PAC: “Quietly, Oz’s campaign has criticized McCormick over Bridgewater Capital’s China ties . McCormick’s political team has responded in kind, making for an interesting and vicious shadow campaign. (McCormick also boasts a close relationship with Trump.)”
  • Statement from Mehmet Oz Campaign: “Dr. Oz is a political outsider campaigning across Pennsylvania talking directly to voters about how he wants to empower them and stand up to the establishment and big government. I don’t have anything to add about other candidates in the race or considering running that care more about what the elites think of them rather than the voters.”
  • Statement from George Bochetto Campaign: “I’m seeing a GOP field develop that has, at best, sporadic attachment to the state and complete attachment to big globalist money — from China to Hollywood.”

On both Mehmet Oz and David McCormick:

  • Philadelphia Inquirer, At PA Society, Republicans cast fluctuating fields for 2022 primaries as promising for the party: “Jeff Bartos, a GOP Senate contender from Lower Merion, hit that note while speaking Saturday to the annual Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association seminar, calling himself a lifelong resident of the state.  ‘Who would have thought that would be a differentiator in this race?’ he said, drawing chuckles.  Bartos later told Clout, ‘I think Pennsylvanians will be incredibly welcoming and open to people who are new to the state. I don’t think they will want them to represent them.’”
  • Statement from Jeff Bartos Campaign: “The choice for Pennsylvanians is clearer than ever: In Jeff they have a lifelong Pennsylvanian who helped save countless small businesses during the pandemic. Or they can pick two out-of-state guys who have done more for China’s economy and Turkey’s army than they have for the people of Pennsylvania.”
  • Philadelphia’s Morning Answer, Interview with Carla Sands: “Well there’s no endorsement like President Trump’s endorsement. But I’m looking for the endorsement of all of the voters of Pennsylvania. They want change and they want it now. They can’t even wait for 2022. But I’ve met with President Trump. He called me about a week and a half ago, and we talked about the race. I told him that there are some late-arriving RINO’s getting in the race, but only an America first candidate will bring out our base next year.”

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