Teresa Mull

Still on the fence about who to vote for in the Republican primary race for Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat, I watched the Newsmax “debate” earlier this month. I was naively hoping to determine which of the five candidates most aligned with my values. Instead what I learned was that they all hate each other. The debate (again, I use that word loosely) was hosted by Grove City College, a small, Christian liberal arts school in western Pennsylvania that does not accept federal funding (there are a handful of such holdouts across the country). College president Paul McNulty offered an optimistic opening message, expressing hope that the event would be an opportunity for the “thoughtful exchange of ideas.” Ha!

The big news stories this morning are not just about the results of yesterday’s primary elections, but about how big of an impact Donald Trump’s endorsements did or did not have. Politico, CNN, the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Hill, and others have all sounded off on this subject — proving that Trump is, indeed, still quite influential. To center-left publications, at least. Until very recently, Trump had an impressive 55-0 endorsement winning streak. He finally struck out with Charles Herbster, who was running for governor of Nebraska amid several sexual misconduct allegations. Last night’s results, however, have called into question Trump’s “status as GOP kingmaker” (as Newsweek phrased it). As the Hill reports, “Tuesday was a mixed night at best for Trump.

Anyone who watched the Kentucky Derby this year was treated to a thrilling race in which the horse with the worst odds — at 80-1 — surged from behind during the last stretch, passing the two frontrunners that had been dominant since the start. No one was paying attention to Rich Strike, way in the back. And no one — not even his owners — saw it coming. This exact scenario — except with people, not horses — is playing out in Pennsylvania’s US Senate race, where underdog Kathy Barnette’s odds had been, for a long time, 358-1 (the margin by which her campaign has been outspent). Barnette is now neck-and-neck with the other top contenders, Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick. One Pennsylvania Republican strategist has called the race “a dead heat.

News stories covering the primary races for Pennsylvania's US Senate seat generally go like this: Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is the Democratic frontrunner pulling ahead big time; now let’s talk about the tit-for-tat attack ads between Republicans Dr. Oz and Dave McCormick for twelve paragraphs. Sure, the Republican primary is developing every day, as Oz and McCormick exchange polling leads faster than Kyle Busch and Kyle Harvick. But at the end of the day (on May 17), GOP voters will have one of two, nice-looking, middle-aged, super-rich Trump wannabes representing them. What happens after the primary is where things really get interesting. Fetterman stands around six feet, eight inches tall and frowns a lot.

I recently had the chance to peek behind Dr. Mehmet Oz’s curtain, and what I saw made me view the TV doctor-turned candidate for Pennsylvania’s US Senate seat in a new light. As I waited for Oz to appear, I decided to take the pulse of the patient crowd. The first woman d’un certain âge (I’d estimate the average age in the room was 62 and majority female) said she was absolutely decided in her support for Oz. She enjoyed watching his show for years and came to the political rally more as a fan than a voter. But then she revised her unequivocal vote to say, “Well, if Trump endorses him. I’ll vote for whoever Trump picks. There’s no question.” The next person I talked to was of an identical demographic and also a big fan of The Dr. Oz Show.