Peter Gondre

The Pennsylvania general election is Tuesday November 8th. This year’s election is particularly important due to it deciding which party controls the United States Senate and House of Representatives ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Make sure you have a plan to vote in this election. 

If you are registered to vote, you can find the location of your polling place at the Pennsylvania Department of State website. Polling places are open from 7am to 8pm on election day. 

Pennsylvania has been historically known as a “battleground state,” meaning the margins of victory and defeat between candidates are typically very slim. The senate race has gotten notable attention due to the two leading candidates Lt Governor John Fetterman, a democrat, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, a republican.

Fetterman has positioned himself as being pro American business, wanting to manufacture more goods domestically, and against money influencing politics in the form of elected officials participating in the stock market. Fetterman’s campaign website has written, “All across Pennsylvania, we’re seeing soaring prices, hollowed out communities, and families getting ripped off by corporate greed.” 

Fetterman has also voiced strong disapproval of the repeal of Roe v Wade, and any potential abortion bans in PA. In his only debate against Oz, Fetterman stated Roe v Wade “should be the law.”  

Oz is a political outsider, being better known as a daytime tv star before this upcoming election. Some of his campaign points are for “modernizing healthcare” and “school choice” education reforms. 

He has positioned himself as being against corporate medicine and illegal immigration. On Oz’s campaign website, he writes “telling the truth about corporate America like how pharmaceutical companies charge too much for prescription drugs, or making sure people know the truth about COVID.”

Oz firmly believes that abortion is a matter of “states rights” and supported the repeal of Roe v. Wade. 

This election may decide what sort of actions this country will take in this heavy inflationary economy, the status of abortion rights, and more. So please vote!