Is the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary over?
Well, that didn’t take long.
I saw the latest campaign commercial for Mehmet Oz on Wednesday morning. It brags about his endorsement just a few days earlier by former President Donald Trump.
“DR. OZ ENDORSED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP.”
“TRUMP ENDORSES MEHMET OZ ‘SMART,
TOUGH, AND SOMEONE WHO WILL NEVER LET US DOWN.’ ”
I wonder if all the Republican candidates in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races have these commercials produced and ready to go. And are praying they can air them.
Oz is celebrating as if he just won the election. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
The voters will decide who our next senator and governor will be. Have the candidates forgotten that?
They’ve focused on beating their chests — and beating each other up — to win the endorsement of The Donald. It’s like that’s all that matters.
Tuesday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Jake Corman was bowing out of the race. He had all but hung the “For Sale” sign on campaign headquarters.
Then Trump sucked him back in.
Corman, the president pro tempore of the state Senate, is well behind in the polls. He’s in a crowded field. So it wasn’t shocking that on Tuesday morning, he filed a petition in Commonwealth Court to have his name removed from the ballot.
Later in the day, invigorated after speaking with Trump, Corman dove back in.
“Two developments today have led me to decide to remain in the race for governor: President Trump’s statement on the race and my conversation directly with the president,” Corman, of Centre County, said in a statement.
“He encouraged me to keep fighting, and that’s what I’m going to do — keep fighting for the people of Pennsylvania.”
The Trump statement that Corman referred to was a bashing of one of Corman’s opponents, William McSwain. He is the former U.S. attorney in Philadelphia who led federal prosecutions there and in the Lehigh Valley area under Trump.
“One person in Pennsylvania who I will not be endorsing is Bill McSwain for Governor,” Trump said in Tuesday’s statement.
“He was the U.S. Attorney who did absolutely nothing on the massive Election Fraud that took place in Philadelphia and throughout the commonwealth. Do not vote for Bill McSwain, a coward, who let our Country down. He knew what was happening and let it go.”
If I hadn’t fled the Republican Party last year, I might consider voting for the guy just because Trump thinks he dissed him.
There was no massive election fraud to investigate.
McSwain has desperately sought Trump’s blessing, but give him credit for pushing back against the criticism.
“I’ve prosecuted and put people behind bars who committed voter fraud, and put rioters and looters in jail,” he said in a statement.
“When I’m Governor, we’re going to get back to a voting system that everyone has confidence in, and that begins with repealing the unconstitutional mail-in balloting law, Act 77, that Doug Mastriano voted for.” Which brings us to Mastriano. Ah, Mastriano.
With Trump finally inserting himself in the thick of Pennsylvania’s elections, I wonder what Mastriano was thinking these past few days.
The state senator from Franklin County is a big believer of the Big Lie. He has said Trump asked him to run for governor. Yet his name hasn’t come out of Trump’s mouth recently.
So Mastriano’s campaign issued a statement Tuesday evening, just to make sure we know he’s still out there. And still best buds with the party king.
The statement arrived under the headline, “Senator Doug Mastriano Vows To Fight For Election Integrity.”
“Both President Trump and I are fighting the same battles on behalf of the people. Pennsylvanians know the truth about my record and that Act 77 was unconstitutionally rewritten by the PA Supreme Court after its passage. Those changes completely undermined our legislative intent and removed critical safeguards prior to the 2020 election.
“I will continue to fight for election integrity and as governor I’ll have the power to ensure that our elections are administered correctly and lawfully.”
Trump still hasn’t knighted anyone in the governor’s race. Perhaps he’s waiting to see who will go low enough in the campaign to be most worthy.
I hope the Republicans who go to the polls or cast a mail ballot for the May 17 primary election don’t vote based solely on who Trump picked. Vote for the candidates that you believe will make Pennsylvania better.
Of course, Trump’s endorsement could be a curse, too.
There are plenty of moderate Republicans — those with a brain who are willing to think for themselves — who disdain the former commander-in-chief. His endorsements could be a road map for who not to vote for in the primary.