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And they're off in Pennsylvania's hotly contested Senate election, with one big catch: There's still no official Republican nominee in the race and the Democratic nominee remains off the trail recovering from a stroke.
But that hasn't stopped the national campaign committees from jumping in with new ad campaigns meant to start defining the conversation while the dust settles.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee launched a new television ad on Friday trying to frame Fetterman as a socialist — citing his 2016 endorsement of Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, and past support for Medicare for All (he's said he'd vote for it, but also for other measures that would expand health care access).
"Left-wing radicals are rolling into Pennsylvania pushing John Fetterman," the ad's narrator says. "Fetterman admits he'll always vote with Democrats. In this economy, that's the last thing we need."
Fetterman remains off the campaign trail after suffering a stroke last month. Some Democrats have raised concerns about when he'll return to the trail, but the Fetterman campaign insists he is “on the path to a full recovery." And his campaign released a statement from spokesman Joe Calvello criticizing the ad as "laughable" and arguing "John cannot be labled because he is not like other politicians."
The TV ad comes one day after the NRSC's Democratic counterpart, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched two digital ads attacking the two Republicans in the midst of a recount. Both ads echo the criticism the Republicans levied against each other during their heated primary battle.
The ad attacking television doctor Mehmet Oz, who holds a narrow lead in the unofficial vote count, paints him as a "scam artist," accusing him of "pretending to be from Pennsylvania and pushing Trump's election lies" and "trying to criminalize abortion."
And the ad attacking former hedge fund CEO David McCormick calls him a "Wall Street insider" who outsourced jobs and worked with China, but now "moved from Connecticut to buy a Senate seat."
