Topline
Former President Donald Trump announced Friday afternoon he plans to hold a rally for Republican candidates in Pennsylvania, headlined by gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano and Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is struggling to gain momentum in his campaign against Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
Dr. Mehmet Oz attends the 2022 Champions Of Jewish Values Gala at Carnegie Hall on January 20, 2022 … [+]
Key Facts
The rally in support of the “entire Pennsylvania Trump Ticket” will take place in Wilkes-Barre on September 3, the Saturday before Labor Day.
Polls show both of the top candidates well behind their Democratic opponents, with Mastriano trailing Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro by 5.7 percentage points in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average and Oz trailing Fetterman by 8.7 points.
Trump is so frustrated with Oz that he’s been privately saying he knows he’s going to “f——— lose,” according to Rolling Stone.
Key Background
Oz has been the victim of a relentless online campaign from Fetterman that claims he’s completely out of touch with Pennsylvania voters, which the lieutenant governor has openly labeled a “s—-post” effort. Fetterman recently fundraised hundreds of thousands of dollars off of a viral video showing Oz complaining about how inflation has made it more expensive for him to put together crudites, a French raw vegetable spread Fetterman said is more commonly called a “veggie tray” in Pennsylvania. Oz also incorrectly said in the video he was shopping at “Wegners,” an apparent portmanteau of the Wegmans and Redner’s grocery store chains. Oz defended the slip-up in a Newsmax interview this week, claiming he was exhausted at the time and has even “gotten my kids’ names wrong as well.” Fetterman has also repeatedly tried to connect Oz with New Jersey, a state he lived in for decades before moving to Pennsylvania in 2020. Fetterman has backed a petition calling for Oz to be put in the New Jersey Hall of Fame, for instance. The Mastriano-Shapiro contest has been a much more conventional race compared to the Senate contest, with both sides attacking the other as extreme.
Surprising Fact
Many political observers consider the Pennsylvania Senate race the best chance for Democrats to pick up a Republican-held seat in the midterms. Sen. Pat Toomey (R) holds the seat but is retiring.
Further Reading
Fetterman Takes Double-Digit Lead Over Oz In New Pennsylvania Poll (Forbes)
Dr. Oz Declares ‘Presumptive’ Victory In Pennsylvania Senate Contest As Recount Begins (Forbes)
Trump-Endorsed Doug Mastriano Wins GOP Primary For Pennsylvania Governor (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/08/19/trump-plans-penn-rally-for-struggling-oz-and-rest-of-his-ticket/