Posted on 05/11/2022 12:49:28 PM PDT by Kaslin
A new poll out Sunday found a potential new frontrunner in the crowded GOP Pennsylvania Senate primary.
A new poll out Sunday found a potential new frontrunner in the crowded GOP Pennsylvania Senate primary, and it’s not the daytime television star or a former Trump official who have been neck and neck throughout the contest. It’s a political commentator running on a MAGA platform without the MAGA president’s endorsement: Kathy Barnette.
>According to the survey from the Trafalgar Group, one of the most reliable pollsters of the prior two presidential elections, Barnette is tied with medical TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz, with more than 23 percent to the doctor’s less than 25 percent, within the nearly 3 percent margin of error. The Trafalgar Group surveyed 1,080 likely GOP primary voters between May 6-8, just after Barnette became a breakout candidate in the Republican Senate debate fueling a late-race surge.
“Yes, it is true. I’m black. And I’ve been black all my life, fact check it,” Barnette said on stage in one of at least two soundbites from the Newsmax-sponsored event to go viral, racking up tens of thousands of views on Twitter alone. “Black people are not special little unicorns. We want what everyone else wants. We want good schools, we want safe streets, we want good jobs. We don’t want liquor stores on every street corner… We [Republicans] have the best story to tell. The problem is we keep picking people who suck at telling it.”
In another clip, Barnette touted her pro-life credentials, highlighting herself as a product of rape, conceived when her mother was only 11 years old.
“I am the byproduct of a rape,” she said. “My mother was 11-years-old when I was conceived, my father was 21. I was not just a ‘lump of cells.’ As you can see, I’m still not just a ‘lump of cells.’ My life has value.” She documented her birth story in a more than four-minute campaign ad released in September.
The debate moment came two days after abortion entered the electoral spotlight with a leaked draft opinion previewing the Supreme Court’s potential reversal of Roe v. Wade this summer.
Barnette’s surge in the polls illustrated by RealClearPolitics below, just days before the Pennsylvania Senate primary, showcases a candidacy built on grassroots campaigning with a compelling message without the advantages of a well-funded war chest deployed by her competitors.
According to Politico on Monday with data from the ad-tracking firm AdImpact, rival candidates Oz and former senior Trump Treasury official David McCormick have spent $12.4 million and $11.4 million on television commercials, respectively. Barnette has only spent about $137,000, a spending ratio of 358-1 against her competitors. Yet Barnette, running without former President Donald Trump’s support while coopting his movement, is in a prime position to clinch the contest.
So who is Barnette? The political newcomer has only sought public office once before in a failed House bid for the Philadelphia-area fourth congressional district two years ago. Her star-studded rivals include two former high-level officials in the Trump administration, McCormick and Carla Sands, who was ambassador to Denmark, and the television celebrity who captured their former employer’s endorsement, Oz.
Barnette is a retired Army reservist who spent a decade in the military, enlisting when she was 18. The Senate hopeful told The Federalist her experience serving in the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) unit fundamentally shaped her perspective of law enforcement as far different from the one she’s expected to hold as a black woman. Barnette said she was the youngest in her unit by at least 20 years, and was the only black person, let alone woman, in her group.
“Police are considered bad across the board, but today as I stand my best friends are in the industry,” she said. “When I’m running out of a bad situation, they’re running into a situation.”
Barnette said she spent time in South Korea “as well as other places” over her decade of service as a reservist. She later added “author” to her resume after four years of frequent national television and radio commentary since 2016, publishing “Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: Being Black and Conservative in America.” The book published in 2020, the same year she lost her congressional race by nearly 20 points.
Despite the loss, she jumped with both feet into the crowded 2022 Pennsylvania Senate primary shortly after, undeterred and relentlessly campaigning with sometimes 1,300 miles traveled in a single week.
“I’ve had to go person to person to make my case,” Barnette told the Federalist, adding despite low early poll numbers for much of the race, she kept going with the refusal to believe there was “no snowball’s chance in Hades of making an impact.”
Barnette’s platform is firmly conservative, with no issue standing out as more important than the other, she told The Federalist. On her website, Barnette condemns censorship, celebrates the 2nd Amendment, cherishes the right to life, deplores vaccine mandates, demands energy independence, and insists on parental input over school curriculums.
“Everything’s on fire and everything’s equally important,” she said, when asked about any wedge issues she’d carve out as a hallmark of her time in the upper chamber.
While declining to single out a particular problem to make her stand, she spoke about the need to address four-decade high inflation, Democrats’ rapid forfeiture of energy independence, and emphasized the crisis on the southern border helped inspire her entrance into electoral politics. On whether she would support the Republican nominee no matter who captured the race next week, she declined to make a blanket pledge.
“It depends on who it is,” Barnette told The Federalist, without offering a name. “I’m not interested in supporting globalists.”
While running on a similar platform with Trump’s blessing, past comments have surfaced to haunt Oz, the lead contender in the race for much of the last month. The television host’s prior endorsement of abortion and showcasing of transgender activism on his daytime program have raised skepticism about his conservative credentials in a race, despite his claims today to be pro-life.
Oz said on a 2019 episode of The Breakfast Club Podcast he didn’t want to “interfere” in women’s ability to get an abortion.
“We need to be very sober about the decision we’re about to make,” Barnette said. “Fortunately, Pennsylvanians have an option and don’t have to hold their nose and vote for the lesser of two evils.”
I don’t what to think about her, on Twitter Greg Kelly, a host on Newsmax who is normally very conservative is savaging her to no end.
Saying she believes in 9/11 never happened.
Questioning her military record.
Accusing her of supporting defunding the police, supporting BLM, etc...
I don’t anything about her, so I’m wondering what she is all about.
I have no idea what anyone running for office really thinks. Does anyone? Just a meme from twitt
😂
I “know”ticed that, too.
These politicians can turn on a dime opinion-wise. Most are trained lawyers. All 3 top GOP candidates have something against them. Trump picked the lesser of 3 evils with no guarantee. I could see Oz disappointing us once or twice for 6 years and then getting worse in a 2nd term. It’s up to Pennsylvanians to do their due diligence. Same with Vance(Oh.).
I’ll go with Oz. He supports the Trump Policies...and that’s what we need...Trump was the All American President who believes America and its people comes first. It should go without saying.
I'm worried about her winning the GOP primary and then getting shellacked in November. She's got three knocks against her in that regard:
1. Very thin resume -- almost disturbingly thin for someone who is supposed to be a public figure. "Political Commentator on Fox News" is not a real job.
2. No political experience -- which is fine for some candidates but is a concern in the context of Item #1.
3. Too many unknowns in her background (previous employers, academic track record, military record, etc.).
There's nothing wrong with a political neophyte, but if you're going to run for such a critical office could you please show us SOMETHING that gives an indication that you're capable and responsible in SOME walk of life?
Given the number of phony negative attacks that have targeted Kathy over the past couple days, I’m guessing she’s actually in the lead in the internal polling following the debates. She hit some serious homeruns, God bless her.
Cathy’s been our preferred candidate since her run for congress against Madeline Dean ... you know the “dean of decency”. Since that time she’s had our financial support as well. We find her to be an impressive conservative in all respects. Just sayin.
Oz is Romney
bump
Dr. Turkey is a tool. He’s Mitt Romney with Turkish citizenship.
Nailed it!
As they say “You know you’re over the target when one gets that much flak”.. I certainly agree with your thoughts.
All of those look like positives not negatives. Would you prefer she was a polished politician who can talk for 30 mins without saying anything? She looks like a fighter.
Yes, Yes ... Cathy’s certainly a fighter.
I would recommend voting values over who is electable. Otherwise you will never elect someone who you would be satisfied with once in office.
Kathy is the main target of the RINO’s now because the election is on Tuesday and she has the momentum.
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