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.

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 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 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 (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 (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)

Debates and forums + 2022 Pennsylvania Senate election Republican primary debates Date Host Moderator Link ParticipantsKey: Participant  Absent  Non-invitee  Invitee Withdrawn Kathy Barnette George Bochetto Jeff Bartos Sean Gale David McCormick Mehmet Oz Carla Sands Everett Stern 1 Feb. 22, 2022 BroadandLiberty.comPennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry Becky Corbin Video 2 Apr. 25, 2022 Nexstar/WHTM-TV; WPXI Dennis OwensLisa Sylvester Video 3 May 4, 2022 Newsmax TV Greta Van SusterenRick Dayton

Endorsements

Polling Graphical summary

Source of pollaggregationDatesadministeredDatesupdated KathyBarnette JeffBartos DaveMcCormick MehmetOz CarlaSands OtherMarginReal Clear PoliticsReal Clear PoliticsMay 3–16, 2022May 17, 202224.2%5.4%19.6%26.8%6.0%18.0%Oz +2.6 Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error KathyBarnette JeffBartos DaveMcCormick MehmetOz SeanParnell CarlaSands Other UndecidedThe Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)May 14–16, 20221,195 (LV)± 2.9%27%7%22%29%–7%4%6%Emerson CollegeEmerson CollegeMay 14–15, 20221,000 (LV)± 3.0%24%5%21%28%–6%1%15%Susquehanna Polling & Research (R)Susquehanna Polling & Research (R)May 12–15, 2022400 (LV)± 4.9%27%2%11%28%–3%3%26%Osage Research (R)May 12–13, 20221,000 (LV)± 3.1%24%6%25%24%–7%1%13%InsiderAdvantage (R)InsiderAdvantage (R)May 7–9, 2022750 (LV)± 3.6%21%5%19%23%–5%3%26%The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)May 6–8, 20221,080 (LV)± 3.0%23%7%22%25%–7%2%15%Fox NewsFox NewsMay 3–7, 20221,001 (LV)± 3.0%19%7%20%22%–8%4%18%Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall CollegeApril 20 – May 1, 2022325 (RV)± 6.9%12%2%16%18%–5%6%39%The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)April 11–13, 20221,074 (LV)± 3.0%18%8%20%23%–11%3%17%Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall CollegeMarch 30 – April 10, 2022317 (RV)± 6.6%7%6%15%16%–5%8%43%Eagle Consulting Group (R)Eagle Consulting Group (R)April 7–9, 2022502 (LV)± 4.4%9%6%18%11%–9%2%45%Emerson CollegeEmerson CollegeApril 3–4, 20221,000 (LV)± 3.0%10%9%18%17%–8%6%33%Public Opinion Strategies (R)Public Opinion Strategies (R)March 29 – April 3, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%13%8%22%16%–11%1%–Emerson CollegeEmerson CollegeMarch 26–28, 2022372 (LV)± 5.0%6%5%14%14%–6%3%51%Basswood Research (R)Basswood Research (R)March 19–21, 2022800 (LV)± 3.5%11%5%22%25%–13%1%23%Fox NewsFox NewsMarch 2–6, 2022960 (LV)± 3.0%9%9%24%15%–6%3%31%Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall CollegeFebruary 21–27, 2022178 (LV)± 10.1%6%4%13%10%–11%3%53%Public Opinion Strategies (R)~February 23, 2022– (LV)–9%5%24%18%–11%1%–McLaughlin & Associates (R)McLaughlin & Associates (R)February 16–18, 2022600 (LV)± 4.0%––24%18%––31%27%Osage Research (R)Osage Research (R)February 13–16, 2022825 (LV)± 4.0%7%6%24%21%–11%3%28%Public Opinion Strategies (R)~February 9, 2022– (LV)–9%5%17%23%–17%1%–The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)February 1–4, 20221,070 (LV)± 3.0%9%7%16%27%–15%6%22%Osage Research (R)January 31 – February 2, 2022– (LV)–––19%29%––––Public Opinion Strategies (R)~January 6, 2022– (LV)–9%8%13%31%–12%––The Trafalgar Group (R)The Trafalgar Group (R)December 13–16, 20211,062 (LV)± 3.0%8%3%–19%–7%12%51%Echelon Insights (R)Echelon Insights (R)December 1–3, 2021200 (LV)± 6.9%7%4%–11%–5%10%63% November 22, 2021 Parnell withdraws from the raceCiviqs (D)Civiqs (D)October 31 – November 5, 2021799 (LV)± 3.5%7%6%––31%8%2%54%Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall CollegeOctober 18–24, 2021184 (RV)± 8.8%3%2%––11%2%3%78%OnMessage Inc. (R)OnMessage Inc. (R)October 11–14, 2021500 (LV)± 4.4%–7%––27%4%5%57%Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall CollegeAugust 9–15, 2021154 (RV)± 10.9%6%4%––14%1%10%66%

Results