“Lengthy, high-dollar primary fights pose another headache for Republicans”
PENNSYLVANIA – New reporting from Politico highlights how damaging nasty, expensive primaries are for Senate Republicans:
GOP candidates are already pummeling each other in monthslong advertising free-for-alls, fights intensified by unprecedented television spending.
The article cites Pennsylvania as a the primary example of just how messy the GOP primaries have gotten, especially compared to their Democratic counterparts:
The difference is especially pronounced in Pennsylvania. As the Democratic frontrunners Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Rep. Conor Lamb run ads arguing why they can win in one of the nation’s top battleground states, GOP candidates there have dropped a record-shattering $35 million on TV — the vast majority coming from Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick, the leading Republicans, whose camps are framing the other as a “liberal RINO” and “Wall Street insider,” respectively.
“They’re doing what I want them to do, which is kick the crap out of each other,” said J.B. Poersch, president of the Senate Majority PAC, Senate Democrats’ flagship super PAC.
Oz and McCormick began spending millions of dollars in December on advertisements introducing themselves to voters. By January, the two camps were already running negative ads against each other for a May 17 primary — to the glee of Democrats who are contesting Pennsylvania and other tightly divided states for control of the 50-50 Senate in November.
“Is that potentially problematic for Republicans? Absolutely,” Poersch said. “They are certainly running arguments that would work against the other in the general.”
No matter who limps out of the nasty, expensive Pennsylvania GOP primary, it’s clear that they are going to significantly damaged and hampered for the general election.
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