POSTCARD FROM PENNSYLVANIA
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
 
Lush green farmlands and gorgeous rocky overlooks greeted us as the (rented) PBS NewsHour election minivan barnstormed the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for three days at the end of last week.
 
The state votes today, with key primary races up and down the ballot.  But we came away with a few notes we thought worth jotting down and sending to you.
 
(You can also view the Pennsylvania primary results here.)

1. No Republican Senate candidate had a clear large group of wildly enthusiastic fans.

The race between television host Mehmet Oz, or Dr. Oz, businessman David McCormick and commentator Kathy Barnette has been a head-scratcher for Republican strategists, trying to determine who might galvanize a sizable group of voters.

Crossing the state, we found just one steadfast Oz voter, a woman in suburban Philadelphia who liked his demeanor and trusts him. The doctor did not hold any events while we were there – and hasn’t since – making it even harder to assess the enthusiasm of his voters. Or who they are. 
 
In contrast, McCormick has been assertively out in public, including at an event with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, which we attended. However, most of the voters there told us they were there to see Cruz. While some of them planned to vote for McCormick, one mixed him up with a candidate in another race – Doug Mastriano. Overall, we found little full-throated enthusiasm for McCormick in the state, including at his campaign event.  
 
No doubt, Barnette has risen fast and has very enthusiastic supporters. They see her as authentic after her years as an anti-abortion activist. But, she was not well-known until Oz and McCormick’s two-man brawl left mutual destruction in its wake. Barnette came through the primary with few bruises, BUT, her late surge also means she is not well vetted. She participated in the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally in 2021, but it’s not clear if she went into the U.S. Capitol. She has a history of taking anti-gay and anti-Muslim stances.

2. Democrats face an "electability" question.

Democratic voters in Pennsylvania are chewing on an important debate: What does “electability” mean in the post-Trump era? Their top choices are contrasts: U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, known for his moderate cross-party appeal, professional approach and campaign trail energy, and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a burly progressive who prefers hoodie sweatshirts and projects a kind of Pennsylvania grit. 
 
What we found on the ground was decided passion for Fetterman. Lamb fans applaud and admire him, but largely support him out of the belief that a moderate is needed to win in November.
 
Fetterman voters disagree. They think what’s needed is a bold candidate with clear ideas and an approach that is far from cookie-cutter.
 
And that seems to be winning in polls. However, over the weekend, Fetterman’s campaign announced he was diagnosed with a minor stroke. The campaign insisted he will recover with no problems. Today, we learned he is also having a new pacemaker installed to try to alleviate the underlying cause of the stroke.
 
For Democrats, within a single U.S. Senate seat of losing the chamber, it is a health concern they are watching closely.

3. Besides Donald Trump, this one name kept coming up.

In our travels, covering two Pennsylvania races and some 11 candidates closely, the name that came up the most in our political conversations with voters was one 1,000 miles away: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
 
Republican voters across the spectrum repeatedly raised him as a figure they like and hope will run for president. (We often asked, “Who do you like in the party right now?”)
 
Interestingly, this included Donald Trump fans who told us different versions of a single thought: They still admire what Trump did as president but they see him as too turbulent and, in one voter’s word, “messy.” Another voter said it might be time for Trump to step aside, keep his social media platform and let another Republican take up his mantle.
 
For those in the Republican Party who have opposed the former president, the prospect of moving around or pushing aside Trump has proven impossible and politically dangerous.
 
But what we heard on the ground in Pennsylvania made us think that support for DeSantis is there, and members of either party should keep an eye on what he does next.


‘WE CANNOT REMAIN SILENT’

By Matt Rasnic, @Matt_Rasnic
Associate Producer/Editor, Social Media
 
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited Buffalo, New York, on Tuesday to meet with families of victims, first responders and local officials following this weekend's racist massacre at a grocery store that left 10 Black people dead and three other people wounded.
 
In public remarks, the president called on Americans to speak up against white supremacy, an ideology that he says has been able to "fester and grow right in front of our eyes" in the U.S.
 
"We need to say as clearly and forcefully as we can that the ideology of white supremacy has no place in America. None. And look, failure to say that is going to be complicity. Silence is complicity. We cannot remain silent,” he said. 
 
More from our coverage:

 
#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage
Senior Editor, Digital
 
Congress held the first public hearing on “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAPs) in decades Tuesday, noting that a military database of UFO reports has grown to about 400 incidents, as more people have come forward to report unexplained encounters in the sky.
 
There’s still no confirmation of anything “nonterrestrial in origin,” but top defense intelligence officials testifying before a House Intelligence subcommittee encouraged military personnel to report any incidents they’ve been unable to explain.
 
“We want to know what’s out there as much as you want to know what’s out there,” said Ronald Moultrie, the undersecretary of defense for intelligence.
 
Last year, the Pentagon released an interim report that documented 144 UAPs, as they’re known by the military, since 2004. For all but one of the sightings, there was too little information to characterize the incidents, officials said. The preliminary report is part of a broader government effort to lessen the stigma and secrecy around these observations.
 
Our question: Of the 144 UAPs investigated, only one incident could be identified with “high confidence.” What was it?
 
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
 
Last week, we asked: Who is considered the first woman to run for U.S. president?
 
The answer: Victoria Woodhull. The Equal Rights Party nominated Woodhull for president in 1872 in New York. At the time of her campaign, she also hadn’t met the constitutionally mandated age of 35 for the position.
 
Congratulations to our winners: Robert Schmid and Ann Mayer!
 
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.