Dr. Oz’s Gun-Toting Fetterman Ad Will Backfire
Voters don’t vote for, they vote against
Political strategists understand that “people don’t vote for, they vote against”. The reverse psychology of campaigning is to get 51 percent of the electorate to vote against the opposition. Obviously, attack ads target specific groups to turn them against rivals, and the “race card” is one method of attack.
Pennsylvania’s Senate race is between Dr. Mehmet Oz, a TV personality turned Republican office seeker, and the current lieutenant governor, Democrat John Fetterman.
A poll from Franklin & Marshall College showed Fetterman leading Oz by 13 percent. Other polls also have Fetterman up by double digits. About 11 percent of Pennsylvania’s voters are black. It was speculated a high black voter turnout would guarantee Fetterman edges Oz in a close contest.
But the Franklin & Marshall poll pointed out the percentage of non-white voters who had no preference between Fetterman and Oz was double that of white voters. The pollsters believe this large amount of indifference from a minority group that votes 90-percent Democratic will hurt Fetterman and help Oz.
Instead of letting the indifference take its natural course, the Oz campaign tried to encourage more of it.