Trump to rally support for Oz, Mastriano in Pennsylvania

Former President Trump will be headed back to Pennsylvania in September to hold a rally in support of gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano (R) and Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz (R) several months ahead of the midterms. 

An advisory through Trump’s Save America PAC said Trump would hold a rally with Mastriano and Oz on Sept. 3 in eastern Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The advisory came at the same time that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) held an event organized by Turning Point Action in Pittsburgh in support of Mastriano.

Trump was last in the state to boost his endorsed candidates, including Oz, in May. 

The rally announcement comes amid questions about the viability of a slew of Republican incumbents and candidates running for Senate, some of whom posted lower fundraising hauls than their Democratic counterparts in the last quarter.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is running against Oz, has produced a viral social media campaign that has sought to depict Oz as a carpetbagger from New Jersey who is out of touch with Pennsylvanians. That effort has included videos using big New Jersey names like former “Jersey Shore” cast member Nicole “Snooki” LaValle and musician ​​Steven Van Zandt.

It has also included fundraising more than half a million dollars off a video made in April which showed Oz going grocery shopping while mispronouncing the name of the grocery store.

Oz’s campaign has sought to show that Fetterman is not authentically engaging with voters on the ground, at one point pushing out a basement tracker on how long the campaign claimed Fetterman was not on the campaign trail in public. 

Meanwhile, Mastriano is considered a controversial Republican gubernatorial candidate who has previously pushed dubious claims about the 2020 election. His candidacy proved contentious enough that a group of Republicans came out in support of his Democratic opponent, Attorney General Josh Shapiro. 

For Mastriano’s part, he’s received the support of all but one House Republican in the state.