Oz didn’t get OK to campaign at Musikfest, organizer says
U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz went against Musikfest’s policy when he walked through the festival grounds in Bethlehem, Pa., on Saturday, according to a festival spokeswoman.
The Republican candidate for Senate in Pennsylvania made campaign stops at two Bethlehem businesses and the Bethlehem FOP Lodge, where he chatted with residents and posed for selfies. Then he meandered through the Musikfest grounds, sometimes stopping to listen to music, at other points chatting with attendees.
Political campaigning is prohibited during Musikfest, according to ArtsQuest Director of Communications Shannon Keith. ArtsQuest runs the 10-day festival in Bethlehem, which is the largest free music festival in the U.S. and draws about a million people a year.
“He did not reach out to our organization, nor did anyone from his campaign or any of his representatives,” Ms. Keith said.
ArtsQuest CEO Kassie Hilgert was quoted on Aug. 7 as saying, “We don’t have political campaigns or candidates on the festival grounds. ... We have a long-standing policy of that. It doesn’t really add to the atmosphere of the festival.”
“So far in the history of Musikfest, political candidates have always been respectful of our stance,” Ms. Keith said Saturday. “We don’t even let our sponsors walk around and engage with people.”
Mr. Oz was in Bethlehem for at least two hours Saturday. He was invited to Billy’s Downtown Diner, the FOP Lodge and the Historic Hotel Bethlehem, and that’s where he spent most of his time and did all of his campaigning, according to Lee Snover, Mr. Oz’s campaign coordinator for Northampton County.
“He literally just walked through Musikfest. People came up to him. He wasn’t going table to table or anything. I don’t think it was official campaigning,” Ms. Snover said.
Ms. Snover countered that Democratic candidates have set up tables to campaign on Main Street in Bethlehem in past years.
Ms. Keith noted that while Musikfest takes over Main Street during the festival, the sidewalks remain the property of the individual landlords. So if a landlord invites a political group to set up a table on their sidewalk, ArtsQuest can’t stop them, she said.
Ms. Snover also shared a photo of herself campaigning for then-Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner at Musikfest in 2018. She said she got permission to campaign and feels the response to Mr. Oz’s visit is overblown.
Musikfest restricts campaigning for fear it will become too widespread. Organizers say people are welcome to “assemble peacefully to share their viewpoints and opinions,” but that activity is limited to two designated areas on festival grounds.
Mr. Oz’s race has high stakes not just for Pennsylvania but for the country. He faces Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in a race that could determine the balance of power in the Senate.