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Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Pennsylvania’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman isn’t just launching new television ads targeting Mehmet Oz’s longtime residency in New Jersey, the Democratic candidate also dispatched an airplane to the South Jersey shore over the weekend to mock the Republican. The plane carried a banner that read, “Hey Dr. Oz, Welcome Home To NJ!”
* Speaking of Oz, Donald Trump explained late last week that he backed the celebrity doctor’s Senate campaign because Oz said nice things about him. “He said I’m a very healthy specimen, which I like,” the former president explained.
* And speaking of Trump, the Republican held a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday night, and directed much of his ire at incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski, calling her “horrific” and “worse than a RINO.” The former president also lashed out at Sen. Dan Sullivan for failing to turn against his fellow Republican senator from his home state.
* On a related note, the latest poll from Alaska Survey Research suggests Murkowski, facing a tough challenge from Trump-backed challenger Kelly Tshibaka, is likely to benefit from the state’s new ranked-choice voting system
* The latest national New York Times/Siena poll found President Joe Biden’s support slipping badly — the Democrat’s approval rating is down to a woeful 33 percent — but in a hypothetical 2024 matchup against his predecessor, Biden still leads Trump, 44 percent to 41 percent.
* In Massachusetts’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, state Attorney General Maura Healey no longer has any rivals: state Sen. Sonia Chang-Díaz ended her candidacy, effectively guaranteeing that Healey will be her party’s nominee in the fall.
* And while Oprah Winfrey doesn’t often get involved in political campaigns, she’s intervening in Maryland’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, extending her support to former nonprofit CEO and author Wes Moore. The crowded primary will be held a week from tomorrow.