The 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman won his first term, defeating Republican surgeon Mehmet Oz. Fetterman succeeded Republican incumbent senator Pat Toomey, who did not seek re-election to a third term. This was the only U.S. Senate seat to flip parties in 2022, and one of the two Republican-held Senate seats up for election in a state that Joe Biden won in the 2020 presidential election.
In the May 17 primary, Fetterman won the Democratic nomination with 59% of the vote over Congressman Conor Lamb and state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta. Oz finished with a 0.1% margin ahead of businessman Dave McCormick in the Republican primary, triggering an automatic recount. McCormick conceded the nomination on June 3, making Oz the first Muslim candidate to be nominated by either major party for U.S. Senate.
The general election was among the most competitive of the 2022 midterms and characterized as highly contentious. Fetterman framed Oz as an elitist carpetbagger with a radical anti-abortion stance in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, while Oz framed Fetterman as a socialist insufficiently committed to fighting crime. Fetterman's health was also a major issue due to him suffering a stroke days before his primary victory. Although Fetterman led most pre-election polls, concerns towards his health and a scrutinized debate performance helped Oz take a narrow lead before the election.
Despite Oz's lead in final polls, Fetterman won by a 4.9% margin, helping provide Senate Democrats a net gain of one seat and their first outright majority since 2015. With Fetterman's victory, elected Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats from Pennsylvania for the first time since 1947.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Democratic lieutenant governor John Fetterman defeated Republican surgeon Mehmet Oz to win his first term in office. Fetterman succeeded Republican incumbent Pat Toomey, who did not seek re-election to a third term. This was the only U.S. Senate seat to flip parties in 2022.
In the May 17 primary, Fetterman won the Democratic nomination with 59% of the vote over Representative Conor Lamb and state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta. Oz finished with a 0.1% margin ahead of businessman Dave McCormick in the Republican primary, triggering an automatic recount. McCormick conceded the nomination on June 3, making Oz the first Muslim candidate to be nominated by either major party for U.S. Senate.
As the only open Republican-held Senate seat in a state won by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, the race was among the most competitive of the 2022 midterms and characterized as highly contentious. Fetterman framed Oz as an elitist carpetbagger with a radical anti-abortion stance in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturning Roe v. Wade, while Oz framed Fetterman as a socialist insufficiently committed to fighting crime. Fetterman's health was also a major issue due to him suffering a stroke days before his primary victory. Although Fetterman led most pre-election polls, concerns towards his health and a scrutinized debate performance helped Oz take a narrow lead before the election.
Despite Oz's lead in final polls, Fetterman won by a 4.9% margin, helping provide Senate Democrats a net gain of one seat and their first outright majority since 2015. With Fetterman's victory, elected Democrats held both U.S. Senate seats from Pennsylvania for the first time since 1947.
Republican primary
Campaign
Early campaign
In October 2020, incumbent Republican Senator Pat Toomey decided not to run for re-election, stating that he wished to return to the private sector.
By October 2021, businessman Jeff Bartos, who had posted strong fund-raising totals, and veteran Sean Parnell, who had the endorsement of former president Donald Trump, emerged as the race's front-runners. However, Parnell's campaign faced a large scandal in November 2021, after his ex-wife, Laurie Snell, testified in court during a custody hearing for the couple's children that Parnell had strangled and spat on her, abused their children, and told her to "go get an abortion". Parnell denied the allegations under oath. Even before these allegations were made, doubts had arisen among Republicans regarding Parnell's fundraising ability, and it became widely assumed that he would suspend his campaign if he did not win custody of his children. On November 22, 2021, Snell was given custody of the couple's children and Parnell suspended his campaign.
Entry of Oz and McCormick
On November 30, with Parnell out of the race, Mehmet Oz, a celebrity doctor and television personality, announced his candidacy. Oz's campaign entered an immediate controversy over whether Oz himself was a resident of Pennsylvania, as he had lived in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, for most of his life and had only registered to vote in Pennsylvania in October 2020. The January 2022 entrance of David McCormick, a businessman, into the race prompted attacks for McCormick's past detraction of Trump and criticism of "America First" economic policies from Oz allies. Super PACs allied to McCormick hit back with a spate of well-funded television advertisements, accusing Oz of being a "Hollywood liberal."
Republican straw polls in January 2022 indicated strong support for Bartos and political commentator Kathy Barnette among party activists as the campaign started to escalate. Bartos won the Republican State Committee Central Caucus's straw poll, placing first with 49 votes, while Barnette finished in second place with 30 votes. McCormick and Sands trailed at third and fourth place; and Oz and former Boxing Commissioner George Bochetto performed poorly, each receiving only one vote. Despite this, political commentators largely considered Oz and McCormick to be the frontrunners, with the other candidates trailing them.
The McCormick campaign targeted Oz's ties to Turkey and called on him to renounce his Turkish citizenship, accusing Oz of harboring dual loyalties. Oz later stated that if he were elected to the Senate, he would renounce his Turkish citizenship. Former president Trump endorsed Oz on April 10, citing the popularity of his television show and perceived appeal to female voters. Oz frequently highlighted this endorsement, it becoming one of his major talking points during the campaign.
Late campaign
Oz had been ahead of the other candidates in the polls since the start of his campaign, with McCormick soon rising quickly in the polls to challenge Oz, with both men polling the low 20s. Barnette had also begun to rise in the polls at this point after a string of attention-getting debate performances and an ad spend in support of her by the Club for Growth. Her late surge prompted a change in tactics from the two frontrunners, who had largely ignored her as irrelevant until then. Pro-Oz Super PAC American Leadership Action launched an ad campaign accusing Barnette of supporting Black Lives Matter, while McCormick stated that Barnette was unelectable, citing her heavy loss in a U.S. House race the previous election cycle. Oz himself also accused Barnette of Islamophobia, pointing to a 2015 tweet in which she stated, "Pedophilia is a Cornerstone of Islam."
Candidates
Nominee
Mehmet Oz, host of The Dr. Oz Show and former cardiologist
Eliminated in primary
Kathy Barnette, Armed Forces Reserves veteran, author, political commentator on Fox News, and 2020 nominee to represent Pennsylvania's fourth district in the U.S. House of Representatives
Jeff Bartos, businessman, philanthropist and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2018
George Bochetto, Pennsylvania state boxing commissioner (1996–2002)
Sean Gale, candidate for the Montgomery County Commission in 2019
Dave McCormick, U.S. under secretary of the treasury for international affairs (2007–2009) and CEO of Bridgewater Associates (2020–2022)
Carla Sands, U.S. ambassador to Denmark (2017–2021)
Disqualified
John Debellis, small business owner
John Eichenberg, truck driver
Robert Jeffries, perennial candidate
Ron Johnson, former Fredonia borough councilor (ran as the Constitution nominee)
Richard Mulholland, HVAC technician
Max Richardson
Martin Rosenfeld, Elk County deputy sheriff and treasurer of the Elk County Republican Party
David Xu, U.S. Army veteran, college professor and IT business owner
Withdrew
Sean Parnell, U.S. Army veteran, author, and nominee for PA-17 in 2020 (endorsed McCormick)
Craig Snyder, former chief of staff to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter
Everett Stern, whistleblower, private intelligence agency owner, and candidate for PA-13 in 2014 and U.S. Senate in 2016 (ran as an independent)
Declined
Kenneth Braithwaite, U.S. secretary of the Navy (2020–2021), U.S. ambassador to Norway (2018–2020), and former advisor to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter
Mike Kelly, U.S. representative for PA-16; formerly PA-03 (2011–present) (endorsed Parnell)
Paul Mango, deputy chief of staff for Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2019–2021), and candidate for governor in 2018
Keith Rothfus, U.S. representative for PA-12 (2013–2019)
Kiron Skinner, Taube Professor of International Relations and Politics at Carnegie Mellon University and former director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department (2018–2019)
Pat Toomey, incumbent U.S. senator
Donald Trump Jr., businessman and son of former president Donald Trump (endorsed Parnell)
Endorsements
Kathy Barnette
Executive branch officials
Michael Flynn, national security advisor (2017) (formerly Democratic)
Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president (2017)
U.S. senators
Joni Ernst, Iowa (2015–present)
U.S. representatives
Burgess Owens, Utah's 4th congressional district (2021–present)
Scott Perry, PA-10 (2013–present)
State legislators
Cris Dush, state senator from the 25th district (2021–present)
Vernon Jones, Georgia state representative (1993–2001, 2017–2021)
Doug Mastriano, state senator for the 33rd district (2019–present)
Organizations
Club for Growth
Gun Owners of America
Pennsylvania State Police Fraternal Order of Police Pioneer Lodge #37
Republican National Hispanic Assembly
Susan B. Anthony List
Newspapers and other media
Gab, alt-tech social media website
Individuals
Jack Brewer, NFL player
Tomi Lahren, conservative political commentator and television host
John Ratzenberger, actor
Jeff Bartos
U.S. representatives
Fred Keller, U.S. representative for PA-12 (2019–2023) (switched endorsement to Oz)
Bob Mensch, 24th district (2009–2022), 147th district (2007–2009)
Patrick Stefano, 32nd district (2015–present)
Scott Wagner, 28th district (2014–2018), Republican nominee for Governor in 2018
Judy Ward, 30th district; formerly the 80th (2015–present)
State representatives
Torren Ecker, 193rd district (2019–present)
Sue Helm, 104th district (2007–2022)
John D. Hershey, 82nd district (2018–2023)
R. Lee James, 64th district (2013–present)
Barry Jozwiak, 5th district (2015–present)
Dawn Keefer, 92nd district (2015–2024)
Jack Rader, 176th district (2015–present)
Frank Ryan, 101st district (2017–2023)
Tommy Sankey, 73rd district; formerly the 74th (2013–2022)
Jesse Topper, 78th district (2014–present)
Organizations
BIPAC
Individuals
John Arnold, philanthropist and founder of Arnold Ventures LLC
Kenneth Langone, billionaire businessman, investor, and philanthropist
Ross Perot Jr., real-estate developer
George Bochetto
Robert Jeffries
Individuals
Roger Stone, political consultant and lobbyist
Dave McCormick
Executive branch officials
Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council (2017–2018) (Democratic)
Emil Henry, assistant secretary for financial institutions (2005–2007)
Hope Hicks, counselor to the president (2020–2021), White House communications director (2017–2018), White House director of strategic communications (2017)
Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council
Robert Lighthizer, U.S. trade representative (2017–2021)
Justin Muzinich, U.S. deputy secretary of the treasury (2018–2021)
Mike Pompeo, U.S. secretary of state (2018–2021), director of the CIA (2017–2018), and U.S. representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district (2011–2017)
Dina Powell, U.S. deputy national security advisor for Strategy (2017–2018), assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs (2005–2007), director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office (2003–2005) (McCormick's wife)
U.S. senators
Ted Cruz, Texas (2013–present) and candidate for president of the United States in 2016
Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania (1995–2007)
Dan Sullivan, Alaska (2015–present)
U.S. governors
Mike Huckabee, governor of Arkansas (1996–2007)
U.S. representatives
Dan Meuser, PA-09 (2019–present)
Elise Stefanik, New York's 21st congressional district (2015–present)
Joel Klein, New York City Schools chancellor (2002–2011), United States assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division (1996–2000), deputy White House counsel (1993–1995) (Democratic)
Labor unions
National Border Patrol Council
Individuals
Stanley Druckenmiller, lead investor for the Quantum Fund and hedge fund manager
William Ford, chairman and CEO of General Atlantic
Kenneth Griffin, hedge fund manager and CEO of Citadel LLC
Hugh Hewitt, radio host, commentator
Paul Tudor Jones, hedge fund manager (Independent)
John F. W. Rogers, executive vice president, chief of staff and secretary to the board of Goldman Sachs
Stephen Scharzman, chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group
Dan Senor, political advisor to Mitt Romney
Mehmet Oz
U.S. presidents
Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) (previously endorsed Parnell)
Executive branch officials
Ben Carson, U.S. secretary of housing and urban development (2017–2021)
Rick Perry, U.S. secretary of energy (2017–2019) and governor of Texas (2000–2015)
Ryan Zinke, United States secretary of the interior (2017–2019) and U.S. representative from Montana's at-large congressional district (2015–2017)
U.S. representatives
Fred Keller, PA-12 (2019–2023) (previously endorsed Bartos)