Barnette says opponents ‘mad’ she is taking lead in Pennsylvania Senate race

Kathy Barnette, who has surged as a leading candidate in the Republican primary for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat, said her opponents were “mad” that she is ahead in the race despite spending far less on her campaign.

Barnette told “Fox News Sunday” that while celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick were “attacking each other on television” with expensive ads, she was “out here with the people” and discussing issues with voters.

“We spent less than two million dollars and they’re mad,” Barnette said. “They’re mad because I didn’t ask for permission to be in this space — I just walked in.”

A Fox News poll taken earlier this month shows Oz, Barnette and McCormick in a dead heat for the Republican primary, which will be held on Tuesday.

Barnette’s surge in the polls was surprising because her campaign has spent far less than her opponents and she began with less name recognition.

Barnette, who has been criticized for past homophobic and Islamophobic tweets including those calling Barack Obama a Muslim, told “Fox News Sunday” the reason she had jumped ahead in the race was because she focused on “real issues.”

“That is the reason why I’m surging and doing so well,” she said. “The American people, specifically Pennsylvanians, are going to prioritize their kitchen-table issues above a lot of the noise we are hearing right now.”