Why Republicans will lose the Senate

In recent days, former reality star/surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz started making a series of stops across Pennsylvania. From Delaware County to the Philly suburbs, Oz has been trying to travel the state in an attempt to salvage his chaotic campaign from ruin.  This comes as recent polling has suggested that while Lt. Governor John Fetterman has been hospitalized, he continues to maintain a strong lead against his opponent, which has only expanded largely because of Fetterman's smart style of campaigning. And after a discussion with prominent Pennsylvania operatives, many analysts are predicting that Oz will lose the race if he doesn't start to hone his message and respond to questions about his residency.

But while I agree with these analysts, I have come to a slightly different conclusion about the Pennsylvania Senate race:

That Pennsylvania had a golden opportunity for Republicans to retain their most vulnerable senate seat by picking a strong candidate to be their nominee who has limited baggage and has a lot of charisma, in businessman and ex-Bush Administration official David McCormick. But instead, they chose Oz, a reality tv star, whose very allegiance to the nation has been called into some, a candidate who doesn't even live in Pennsylvania, and someone who chose to waste valuable time on the campaign trail by traveling to Europe while he could've jumpstarted his campaign with Fetterman is in the hospital.

And ultimately I believe Mehmet Oz will lose the senate race and potentially cost them the majority.

Now, my reasoning for why Oz will lose doesn't just have to do with all of the baggage Oz has regarding his candidacy and his past actions but also has a lot to do with his terrible political instincts and his poor campaign decisions. That's because Oz, who barely won the primary was facing a potentially tough challenge in the general election if McCormick and his supporters chose not to back Oz in the general, however, he was given a hail-Mary pass when McCormick announced the ending of his senate campaign and endorsement of Mehmet Oz. 

At this moment it seemed as though Oz was going to be the favorite in this race as Fetterman had been officially sidelined due to his debilitating stroke allowing Oz to have the campaign trail all to himself. And to top it all off Oz had a united to Republican party behind him.

But what did he do with this valuable time: he squandered it  

As, he went to Europe during the summer and didn't campaign until Republicans practically begged him to come back to the state.

Furthermore, Oz hasn't been serious in the campaign trail about addressing problems relating to his residency which is problematic considering his opponent Fetterman has made it a centerpiece to the campaign. And aside from what he isn't doing, Oz has been failing in his attacks on Fetterman, and many have come to view Oz's campaign to be very dark as he continues to paint America in a dark light in hopes that would work.

But the truth is that isn't working, as Fetterman isn't your conventional democrat and has little connection with Washington. Or at least that's what people keep thinking about Fetterman. But the truth is that Fetterman has turned his optimistic message into a tool of attack on Oz by using memes and social media tactics to get his message in a positive way that doesn't reflect poorly on the candidate or hurt his positive, optimistic message.

Overall, if John Fetterman continues down this path of optimism and Mehmet Oz continues his mistakes there is no way Fetterman can lose this race.