Mehmet Oz allies are airing a new attack on the John Fetterman jogger incident, targeting Philly voters

Allies of Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz are going after John Fetterman in Philadelphia with an ad about the 2013 incident in which he grabbed a shotgun and chased down a Black jogger.

The spot is a clear attempt to tamp down enthusiasm for the Democratic Senate nominee in a largely Black city that makes up the foundation of Democratic support in Pennsylvania.

“John Fetterman chased down an innocent, unarmed Black man,” intones the TV ad from the Oz-aligned super PAC American Leadership Action. It began running on cable Tuesday in the Philadelphia market only.

It points to an incident in which Fetterman, then the mayor of Braddock in Western Pennsylvania, heard gunshots and ran down a man whom he — incorrectly — believed was involved.

» READ MORE: Everything to know about the 2013 John Fetterman jogger incident

The ad includes news footage of the jogger, Christopher Miyares, saying Fetterman pointed the gun at his chest, something Fetterman has denied. Fetterman, now the state’s lieutenant governor, has said he was acting as the city’s chief law enforcement official at the time, responding to what he calls a “chaotic” situation. While he says he wouldn’t want to do it again, Fetterman has refused to apologize for the incident.

Fetterman fended off attacks over the issue in the Democratic primary, but this ad presents a new challenge. His Democratic opponents then didn’t air TV ads on it, limiting how many people learned of the incident.

Now, the Oz-aligned PAC plans to spend $500,000 on the ad over the next three weeks, running it on news channels such as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News, but also BET, the Oprah Winfrey Network, HGTV, ESPN, and others.

Using cable stations, which have more narrow audiences than broadcast, shows that the group has specific demographics in mind, said Chris Nicholas, a Republican consultant in Harrisburg who isn’t involved in the Senate race. And he said it may test Fetterman’s strength in the state’s most Democratic city, because his base is in Western Pennsylvania and he has concentrated his campaign events there.

Fetterman’s campaign, though, responded with a comment from State Sen. Vincent Hughes, a longtime Philadelphia Democrat.

“Dr. Oz is an out of touch millionaire who has no idea about the issues that are facing Black voters,” Hughes said. “While Oz spends his time in his mansions in New Jersey, John Fetterman was the three term mayor of Braddock, a majority Black town, and has worked hand in hand with the Black community for years. Black voters are excited to vote for John because of his long record, and because they know he will fight for them in Washington.”

» READ MORE: John Fetterman skipped the first Pa. Senate debate. His rivals made it all about him anyway.

While the incident is nearly a decade old, Fetterman didn’t face intense political scrutiny about it until early this year, when his Democratic primary opponents, U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, of Philadelphia, called on him to apologize, and warned that it could hurt the party’s chances in the general election. The incident has also taken on new dimensions after a national reckoning around racism, including the murder of a Black jogger in Georgia, Ahmaud Arbery.

Oz, who has made several campaign stops in Philadelphia, doesn’t need to necessarily swing Democratic voters to his side. Just dampening turnout for Fetterman could help him win in a close Senate race.

And, Nicholas argued, just because Fetterman’s primary opponents couldn’t dent Fetterman, it doesn’t mean the lieutenant governor handled the questions well.

“His response was bad, it was flat-footed, it was poorly delivered,” he said.