The Hill reports that former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama will face off in Pennsylvania over the weekend.
The two former presidents will be campaigning for their respective parties ahead of the midterm elections.
The fact that Obama and Trump will be on hand demonstrates just how important Pennsylvania is to both parties.
Oz v. Fetterman
Perhaps, the most important race that is taking place in Pennsylvania is the U.S. Senate race between Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman. This is expected to be a crucial race for determining which party, after the midterms, will end up in control of the much coveted U.S. Senate.
The Senate is currently divided 50 to 50 with the tie-breaking vote going to Vice President Kamala Harris, thereby giving the Democrats the majority. Polling suggests that the battle over the Senate is tight, although Republicans may now have a slight edge.
As for the race between Oz and Fetterman, polling would appear to have the race a toss-up. Real Clear Politics has Oz up, on average, by a mere 0.1 percentage points.
It must be pointed out, though, that there are some outlier polls in that average and that things have been trending in Oz’s direction ever since Fetterman’s disastrous debate performance.
Shapiro v. Mastriano
The other important race that is taking place in Pennsylvania is the one between Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano, and it’s for the state’s governorship.
Here, it is looking as though the Democrat, Shapiro, is going to win easily.
Real Clear Politics has Shapiro up, on average, by 10.7 percentage points. And, FiveThirtyEight has Shapiro a virtual certainty to win, with the Democrat winning in 97 out of 100 scenarios.
So, it is looking as though there is no real hope for Mastriano at this point. But, it’s not over until it’s over.
Trump and Obama will be on hand in Pennsylvania over the weekend to try to win some last-minute support for their respective candidates ahead of the midterms, which will take place on Tuesday. President Joe Biden will be on hand as well, although one would expect him to take a back seat to Obama.