Trump, GOP rivals unload on Kathy Barnette as she rises in Pa ...

This week, she landed a major endorsement from the Club for Growth Action, a conservative organization that quickly shelled out $2 million for pro-Barnette commercials — a financial commitment 12 times greater than what Barnette has spent on advertising.While the ads could give Barnette a boost ahead of Tuesday’s primary, Oz and McCormick also risk throwing their own campaigns off message if they spend the final days attacking her.“It’s getting late, and at this point, her opponents can’t change tack,” said Samuel Chen, a Pennsylvania Republican political strategist who has not taken sides in the primary.The best move, Chen said, might be to push opposition research — a political tactic that unearths past statements or previously unvetted parts of a candidate’s life — in hope of scoring late-breaking stories that undecided voters will see before they cast their ballots.Indeed, operatives involved in the race are calling attention to such things. Christopher Nicholas, a top Republican strategist in Pennsylvania who is neutral in the primary, said Barnette’s opponents could weaponize her refusal to talk about her past, because “when you’re a top-tier Senate campaign, you have opposition on everybody,” but it could be too late to use it.Another GOP strategist with Pennsylvania ties, Chris Mottola, said that because the race is so close, there is little room for error as Barnette’s rivals seek to neutralize her.“I don’t know if the Oz or McCormick campaigns are panicking,” he said, adding, “You’re talking about an election that’s going to be won, probably, by a few thousand votes, and any mistake you make over the next few days could be irreparable.”Henry J.