https://www.wsj.com/articles/democrats-risky-keystone-bet-pennsylvania-senate-election-midterm-conor-lamb-fetterman-defund-police-
Donald Trump stirred the Pennsylvania primary pot this weekend, with his controversial endorsement of TV doctor Mehmet Oz over David McCormick to succeed Sen. Pat Toomey. If the press won’t let that go, it’s in part because Democrats are in denial about their own consequential contest—one that goes beyond Senate control to the question of their party’s future.
That’s the primary on their side, between Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Rep. Conor Lamb. It pits an all but untested, unapologetic progressive firebrand against a centrist with a proven track record of beating Republicans in the swingiest of states. And it speaks volumes that—for now—the uber-liberal is running away with it.
With a month to the state’s primary, Mr. Fetterman claims a significant fundraising advantage over Mr. Lamb and a substantial lead in the polls. The most recent poll this week, from Franklin & Marshall College, put him 24 points ahead of Mr. Lamb, 41% to 17%, with other candidates in single digits and 26% undecided.
The race represents a huge and risky bet by some national Democrats that a new breed of “populist” progressives can excite the base even as they also pull enough blue-collar white voters to win battleground states. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee worked hard in past primaries to put Lamb-like centrists on the Pennsylvania ticket, such as Katie McGinty (who barely lost to Mr. Toomey in 2016). But in response to pressure from Senate progressives, the DSCC is this time remaining neutral.