Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.
* In Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, Mehmet Oz’s campaign was already struggling, but the Republican’s team made things worse yesterday by mocking his Democratic rival for having had a stroke. “If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke and wouldn’t be in the position of having to lie about it constantly,” Oz’s senior communications adviser said.
* On a related note, the Democratic lieutenant governor responded on Twitter, writing, “I had a stroke. I survived it. I’m truly so grateful to still be here today. I know politics can be nasty, but even then, I could *never* imagine ridiculing someone for their health challenges.”
* In Florida’s statewide primaries yesterday, Rep. Charlie Crist easily won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and will face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in November. Similarly, Rep. Val Demings won the Democratic U.S. Senate primary by an even larger margin and will face Republican Sen. Marco Rubio in the fall.
* Also in the Sunshine State, Rep. Matt Gaetz faced a credible GOP challenge from Mark Lombardo, a retired Marine and former FedEx executive, but the incumbent nevertheless cruised to an easy primary win. Gaetz will now likely be re-elected, despite facing an ongoing federal investigation into alleged sex trafficking.
* It was also a busy day for congressional primaries in New York yesterday, and perhaps the most notable result was Rep. Jerry Nadler’s landslide victory over fellow Rep. Carolyn Maloney in a Democratic primary. * In Missouri’s U.S. Senate race, in the wake of scandal-plagued former Gov. Eric Greitens’ defeat in a Republican primary, lawyer John Wood has decided to end his independent candidacy, saying he no longer saw a viable path to victory. * And in Oklahoma’s Senate runoff primary, Rep. Markwayne Mullin defeated his Republican rival, former state House Speaker T.W. Shannon, by roughly 30 points yesterday. Mullin will face former Rep. Kendra Horn in the fall, though the Democrat will be a heavy underdog.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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