Trump is returning to Pennsylvania as races for Senate and governor draw national attention

Pennsylvania’s statewide elections, especially the contest for an open U.S. Senate seat, are drawing national media attention.

A visit from Donald Trump is sure to intensify that focus.

The former president, and potential contender for the 2024 Republican nomination, will return on the Saturday before the Nov. 8 general election to the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, where he is to host a rally for Mehmet Oz, the celebrity television doctor running for Senate, and Doug Mastriano, the state senator running for governor.

Trump endorsed both men just before the primary in May. As with all Trump productions, the rally is certain to be just as much about him and the lies he continues to tell about the results of the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania as it is the candidates on the ballot.

Trump held a rally at the airport in September 2020, two months before he lost Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes.

The two statewide races are on very different tracks.

Oz has narrowed the gap with the Democratic nominee, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Two averages of polling compiled by the website RealClearPolitics and by the website FiveThirtyEight showed the race in a statistical dead heat Friday.

Oz, who has been climbing in the polls, saw that tick up further this week after Fetterman’s halting performance in their only televised debate. Fetterman is still recovering from a stroke he suffered days before the primary.

» READ MORE: The final days of Doug Mastriano’s shoestring campaign: Is his ‘army’ of fans enough?

Mastriano’s campaign, by comparison, continues to languish. He and the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, could not agree on the terms for a debate. So Mastriano will head into the general election without that high-profile platform to offer a contrast to their candidacies.

The RealClearPolitics average showed Shapiro with a 6.7-point lead Friday, while FiveThirtyEight showed him with a 9.4-point advantage.

Mastriano, who limits media interactions to conservative television, radio, and podcast hosts who openly support his campaign, has done little to broaden his support beyond his base. His campaign’s relationship with national GOP groups that often help financially support campaigns has been, at best, standoffish, and, at worst, openly hostile.

Oz has drawn far more establishment Republican support. He has taken a more traditional approach to a statewide campaign, attempting to moderate his rhetoric to appeal to independents and Democrats.

» READ MORE: John Fetterman’s debate showing left Democratic insiders shaken but still hopeful

That makes Trump’s visit a natural fit for Mastriano, maybe not so much so these days for Oz.

Trump rallied for Mastriano and Oz in early September in Wilkes-Barre, where he spent the majority of his time reiterating a litany of personal and political grievances, with the harshest invective reserved for President Joe Biden. Fetterman and Shapiro did not let the opportunity go to waste, using Trump’s low approval numbers among their supporters it to raise campaign donations.

Trump also rallied for Oz in Greensburg 11 days before the primary. Trump endorsed Mastriano three days before the primary.