The November midterm elections in Pennsylvania aren't for another 158 days.
And the Keystone State still doesn't know which GOP Senate primary candidate — either Dr. Mehmet Oz or David McCormick — will compete in the general election, that is, until after the state's official recount.
But that hasn't stopped Republicans from firing the first salvo at John Fetterman, the Democratic Party's Senate challenger.
On Friday, the Senate Republicans' campaign arm released its first television ad for the Pennsylvania Senate general election, connecting Fetterman to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., one of the most progressive Democrats of the national party.
The 30-second ad, which was previewed on Politico.com, begins with a group of professional protesters — disguised as everyday young people — rushing over to a plain white van that's emblazoned with Fetterman and pro-Sanders stickers.
From there, the protesters grab a bunch of premade, professionally enhanced signs praising Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. (the face of the "Green New Deal"), condemning Republicans as "bigots," and denouncing "fracking" in Pennsylvania.
The ad's narrator then says, "The primary's over. Now, left-wing radicals are rolling into Pennsylvania and pushing John Fetterman, who sided with socialists, backed a government takeover of healthcare, and embraced parts of the Green New Deal that'd cost you 50,000 bucks a year.
"Fetterman says that Democrats need to be 'ruthless.' Bernie Sanders calls Fetterman 'an outstanding progressive.' Fetterman admits he'll always vote with Democrats. In this economy, that's the last thing we need."
It's a simple ad with minimal voice-over copy; and yet, it reinforces the message that out-of-state actors are driving the Fetterman campaign train in Pennsylvania.
In a Friday statement, according to Politico, Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello called the new ad "laughable," before saying, "John cannot be labeled because he is not like other politicians, and voters across Pennsylvania know that."
According to Politico, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) said it will put $1.5 million behind the ad from Friday through June 16 on broadcast and cable TV.
A 15-second version of the spot will also run digitally.
Fetterman is still recovering from a stroke last month. Dr. Oz, a heart physician before becoming a syndicated TV star, during a Newsmax interview, wished Fetterman a full recovery.
In recent months, Fetterman has said that he would back expanding Medicare for all, if the measure needed his vote to pass in the Senate.
As for the Green New Deal, the progressives' proposal to tackle climate change, Fetterman has previously said he supports pieces of it — such as creating union jobs to transition away from fossil fuels.
However, Fetterman reportedly opposes a ban on fracking, a method of extracting natural gas that employs tens of thousands of people in Pennsylvania.
That's a dramatic shift from 2016, when candidate Fetterman apparently favored a moratorium on new fracking.
On the GOP side, Pennsylvania election officials have already begun the recount for Oz and McCormick.
Last week, Oz got ahead of the narrative in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate race, saying that he has already "earned the presumptive Republican nomination."
Heading into the recount, with 99% of Pennsylvania precincts reporting, Oz (31.2% of the GOP vote, 419,555 total votes) led McCormick (31.1%, 418,615 votes) by 940 votes.
Citing Pennsylvania election law, a recount is automatically triggered when a race comes down to a .5 percentage-point differential or less.
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