That argument seems to be persuading everyday Americans, who increasingly blame Democratic leadership for mismanagement of the U.S. Fetterman, the former mayor of Braddock, Pa., a postindustrial town near Pittsburgh, is a populist Democrat who seeks to unite the party's progressives with Rust Belt voters who backed Trump.įetterman's campaign declined to comment for this story.

John Fetterman leads on the Democratic side of the ticket and, while still early, has led any Republican in the limited polling available on FiveThirtyEight. Bartos faces a host of other primary challengers including Dr. The Pennsylvania race has already generated its own political drama after Trump's pick to win, Sean Parnell, dropped out after losing a contentious custody battle against his estranged wife who accused him of spousal and child abuse. Toomey joined Democrats earlier this year in voting to convict Trump. Though Bartos praised Toomey's leadership on economic issues, he said he differs from the incumbent on whether former President Donald Trump should have been convicted of 'incitement of insurrection' on Jan. Pat Toomey when he retires at the end of his current term. Bartos, born and raised in Berks County, Pennsylvania, is vying to succeed fellow Republican Sen. Lamon and Bartos blame what they view as Democrats' wasteful spending for the current jump in inflation and told CNBC they'd be happy to see the federal government do less. The ideological parallels between Bartos and Lamon betray the GOP's broader blueprint for 2022 that relies on the economy, and inflation, as key talking points on the campaign trail.

Those thoughts are echoed, on the other side of the country, by Bartos' fellow Republican Jim Lamon, who hopes to unseat Sen. Both men said they plan to focus on what they view as wild inflation and reckless federal spending.īartos, who owns a contracting company and some Philadelphia-based real-estate development firms, says business executives and workers he speaks with on the campaign trail all complain of one thing. Political strategists say states including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia are expected to see some of the tightest races and decide whether Democrats maintain their narrow hold over Congress.ĬNBC spoke with Bartos and Arizona Republican Jim Lamon, who is also running for Senate, to hear their thoughts on the economy heading into 2022. It's fascinating to travel in Pennsylvania.'īartos and dozens of other Republicans will hit the campaign trail in earnest in the coming months as the party looks to retake both the Senate and House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections. 'So, it's fascinating to run in Pennsylvania. 'If you've spent time in the Commonwealth, we really have so many different diverse industries in different parts of the state,' Bartos said when reached via telephone on Thursday. It's that economic variety that makes campaigning in Pennsylvania so absorbing, says Jeff Bartos, a Republican running to fill a seat in the U.S.

2022 midterm elections predictions