YORK, Pa. – The Republican Party of Pennsylvania on Saturday declined to endorse a nominee in the state’s hard-fought and increasingly ugly Senate primary.
Members of the GOP state committee, which ended its meeting in Lancaster for the press on Saturday, voted against a proposal to vote-endorse candidates in each statewide race, according to multiple sources in the room.
Before the vote, most state Republicans predicted there would be no approval. Still, the no endorsement was a disappointment for real estate developer Jeff Bartos, whose campaign had not forecast a win before the meeting but had garnered the most votes in straw polls from committee members at regional assemblies in the weeks leading up to Saturday.
Bartos, who has struggled in the polls and has been outdone by famed doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, must shake up the race to overcome his rivals’ financial and name advantages. Oz and McCormick have also previously spent more on TV ads than they did on a pro-Bartos Super PAC.