♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, high stakes. controversial celebrity dr. mehmet oz squaring off in a political battle against lieutenant governor john fetterman. tensions in homes across pennsylvania echoing those on the campaign trail. >> i can have the biden signs in my room and the fox news downstairs. >> and in classrooms. >> it seems the kids, the students are more engaged. there is definitely more opinions floating out. >> could this race decide which party controls the u.s. senate? plus corgi parade. a paw-fect tribute to queen elizabeth, featuring her favorite furry friends. and o.a.r. ♪ legendary jam band entertaining generations.

>> we believe in community. we believe in message. we believe in the pulse. we're in this thing together. >> a connection to their fans. >> i don't know about you guy, but i feel pretty good. >> and the sacrifices they make for a life on the road. >> "nightline" will be right back. ♪ over and under we go through ♪ >> knight lin age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. i've got nothing to eat. nothing. hold on, i can do something. ♪ turning nothing into something ♪ ♪ turning nothing into something ♪ it's amazing what you can do with nothing, and a little best foods.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. with midterm elections less than a month away, the race in pennsylvania between dr. mehmet oz and lieutenant governor john fetterman has become one of the most closely watched in the country. it could determine whether republicans or democrats control the u.s. senate. we revisit a father and daughter whose political divide echoes those in the state and across the nation. here is abc's trevor ault. >> people would slam doors in my faces and yell biden supporter at school. >> for real? >> yeah. >> reporter: with midterm elections less than a month away, talking politics can be intense in a swing state like pennsylvania. that tension creeping into some people's homes. abby crawford leans left. her father wes leans right. >> we do our best. it's definitely a learning curve figuring out how to not talk from a place of convincing but just understanding the difference in opinion that we

have. >> reporter: you understand where she is coming from? >> i believe i understand where she is coming from. i just hope she understands where she's coming from. >> reporter: next month abby, a first-time voter will be casting her vote, along with her dad in a pivotal election. not just for the state, but for the country, the pennsylvania senate race, a contentious fight between celebrity dr. mehmet oz and lieutenant governor john fetterman. >> dr. oz might be a joke, but it's not funny. because abortion is on the ballot in pennsylvania and in this nation. >> we don't want folks voting before they've actually heard john fetterman defend his far left radical ideas. >> reporter: both vying for the seat being vacated by republican pat toomey, the winner potentially determining the balance of power in the senate. >> democrats knew looking at this map there was really only one big opportunity they had to flip a seat that was currently

held by republicans. quite frankly, this is the race that could be for all the marbles. >> reporter: the candidates trading jabs on social media. fetterman, a democrat, currently serves as the state's number two, and was once mayor of braddock, a steel town with less than 2,000 residents. he has lived in pennsylvania his entire life, something he's played up in his campaign ads, pointing out his opponent has not. >> i ask you is to send dr. oz back to new jersey and send me to washington, d.c. >> reporter: earlier this year a stroke significantly slowed down fetterman's ability to campaign for a time, though he now uses that experience as a new talking point. >> you may have had a real serious health challenge in your life. anyone? i hope that you didn't have a doctor in your life making fun of it, laughing at you, telling you that you're not able to do your job.

>> i think the stroke and the obvious impact that it had opened the door to many voters who want to at least think about whether they would consider mehmet oz. >> reporter: dr. mehmet oz, a republican, seeming to follow president trump, a celebrity turned politician hoping to keep senator toomey's seat red in the process. >> pennsylvania needs a conservative who will put america first. >> reporter: and he is leaning in to trump's endorsement. >> by the way, i endorsed another person today, dr. oz in pennsylvania, dr. oz. great guy, a good man. >> reporter: the fact that trump was in oz's corner mattered a great deal in the republican primary. whether it matters in the general election is going to be a much bigger and more significant question. >> reporter: the doctor seen as a hard-liner on abortion, which has become a mobilizing issue this election cycle. >> it does appear to be tied to the dobbs decision, overturning roe v. wade has changed the

political dynamics and calculus in so many places. in a close place like pennsylvania, every vote matters. >> reporter: in pennsylvania, women have accounted for 56% of new voter registration since the dobbs decision. >> i feel like it's very important that we recognize a woman's, like, ability to make a decision for herself. and the necessity of prioritizing the woman in that situation. >> reporter: we first met the crawfords two years ago. abby then just a junior in high school. the 2020 presidential election looming ahead. >> i can have the biden signs in my room. and the fox news downstairs. >> i think trump is embraced not because people have a glorified view of trump as a person, but i think they were hopeful that president trump would change the status quo in washington. >> reporter: abby since left her smaller conservative hometown for college in pittsburgh, where she is finding a little bit more solidarity with her views.

so now you are just old enough to get to vote. >> right. >> reporter: and i believe you registered? >> i did. >> immediately? >> 12:302. >> on my 18th birthday. >> reporter: abby graduated from redbank valley high school. she said it was here where she learned how to discuss the issues while still respecting the people who disagreed with her. >> when i was in 8th grade, dr. harman's civics class, he talked a lot about our civic duties and how important it is to be involved, and if we're going have opinions, we need to take action on that. >> reporter: redbank valley high school is about an hour northeast of pittsburgh. a fairly staunchly red part of western pennsylvania. the school has a highly engaged civics curriculum. our terry moran was there back in 2016 for the school's mock election. >> donald trump with a landslide victory here. >> in the redbank valley. >> at redbank rally. >> reporter: we checked with him a lot over the years. i was there in 2020 when they again went for trump. >> donald trump with 870 votes.

>> qualify joe biden with 56. >> reporter: once again, we are here at redbank valley high school. this is "nightline's" sixth time here since 2016. we're going civics class. today we're talking about the presidential races. today we're talking about the senate race. >> what is the job of the u.s. senate. three, two, one, three them up. i don't know, to make our country good, to pass laws. a couple of you are right. >> reporter: dr. joe harman's eighth graders are just a few weeks in, and they're already learning just how important their state is. >> so, who has the balance of power? >> democrats. >> democrats. >> so that's why there is a lot of attention to pennsylvania. >> reporter: dr. harman says his goal is not to influence how these future pennsylvania voters actually vote. he instead wants them to understand the process and simply get them interested in civic participation. >> i've known you a couple of years now.

>> yes. >> i already knew that you found civics to be incredibly important. i would imagine that you only find it more important these days. >> it's been a lot easier to teach, especially since 2016 with these candidates that have become more out there and prominent and maybe popular. maybe the best word to use. so it seems the kids, students are more engaged. there is definitely more opinions floating out and around there. so it's made my job easier because they're more interested in the processes and the candidates and what's happening in the country in general. >> right. and the kids here already have a sense of what issues matter to them. >> if you grew up with around guns and with guns like my family hunts some, like then you're going to be well, i want guns because that's part of my rights. >> lately we've been talking about student loan forgiveness. i just think it's unfair for, like, this generation to kind of be just given everything. >> reporter: with less than a month to this battleground election, voters from each party

are lining up behind their candidates. the crawfords are no different. >> mr. fetterman certainly punches above his weight with respect to experience. i will grant you, he managed to get the lieutenant governor's job after being the mayor of braddock. it's a part-time gig. it's not really a career. >> reporter: do you think dr. oz is good? >> i don't know if he was the best candidate we could have chosen to represent the republican party. but he is certainly a very reasonable and good candidate. >> reporter: abby, how do you feel about dr. oz? >> i can remember being in elementary school and coming home and getting off the bus and sitting down in the living room and dr. oz would be on. i feel that he has made his money and built his oz empire off of misinformation and of shaming patients, shaming women specifically a lot. i think that there is a lot good to be said for john fetterman. he has been deep into pennsylvania communities. he has put in a lot of time for pennsylvania.

>> reporter: how important do you think this upcoming election is? >> we need to take pause and see if the direction we're heading is good or bad for our country. and be willing to change course. >> i think we have a serious responsibility to ourselves and to each other and to the country to be involved and do your own research and dare to challenge yourself on what you've always been told. >> our thanks to trevor. coming up, o.a.r. why the legendary jam band is still going strong. ♪ ♪ and i'm good without you, yeah, i'm good without you, yeah ♪ to help protect from hiv, i prep without pills. with apretude a prescription medicine used to reduce the risk of hiv without daily prep pills. with one shot every other month, just 6 times a year. in studies, apretude was proven superior

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we go behind the scenes with the legendary jam band o.a.r., known for their catchy tunes and free-flowing jams. how they navigate the difficulties of life on the road with growing families at home. here is abc's phil lipof. >> what happens when two friends come together to make music. one heavily influenced by reggae and bob marley. ♪ stand up for your rights ♪ >> the other by hard rock and metallica. you get a sound, a band, and a friendship that stands the test of time. ♪ in a way need a change from this burnout scene, another time, another town, another everything ♪ >> reporter: from number one

hits like "shattered" -- ♪ how many times can i wait till i'm shattered ♪ >> reporter: to epic live performances. o.a.r. has earned its place in jam band history. >> we believe in community. we believe in message. we believe in the pulse. we're in this thing together. ♪ you love me ♪ >> reporter: on this night in salt lake city doing what they've done for more than 20 years. ♪ having a conversation with the crowd. >> i don't know about you guys, but i feel pretty good. ♪ >> reporter: the band calls it an exchange of energy that pushes them to stretch three-minute songs into 20-minute versions, collectively improvising. joining the original five members on stage for years now, mike paris on the keys and jon lampley on the trumpet.

>> what's special about this after 25 years is that you can write a set list, but you really don't know what you're going get until you get on stage that night. >> we all have to be flexible, including our team on stage, our techs, our lighting guy, we're all kind of in that flowy state, able to be in that flowy state whenever we need to. >> reporter: when your lead singer and drummer have been playing together since eighth grade, there is a special connection. here is frontman marc roberge and drummer chris culos at their middle school talent show. ♪ they recruited richard on and benj gershman in 1996 while attending their rockville, maryland high school. >> when we started out, we were doing local bar shows for our friends where the teachers would be there from the high school. our job was to keep them entertained for two and a half hours so our friends could have

a good time. >> reporter: later meeting saxophonist jerry depizzo at ohio state as they became a staple on the college rock scene in the late '90s. ♪ grassroots growth created an intensely loyal fan base from the first app album "the wanderer" released in 1997 with songs like "that was a crazy game of poker." ♪ >> reporter: to constant touring because the live experience really defines this band. ♪ >> reporter: and in 2006, o.a.r. played the show of all shows to a sold-out crowd at madison square garden, the pinnacle of any band's career. ♪ so rise on up to that highest mountaintop ♪ >> after the show we decided every night is msg. this is an attitude we've taken from that moment that no matter where we play, we're bringing

the same show, the same energy, the same honest gratitude. to this day, we don't know what version we're going play that night. >> reporter: and how does it -- how does it take shape? >> i'm stepping up to that microphone with zero plan. >> why don't you facetime. >> reporter: some of marc's most profound lyrics come from personal experiences like this one captured in the music video "i go through." ♪ you go over and under, i go through ♪ heading out on tour when his phone rings, his kids missing him already. and then this from his son. >> i have a question. when are you going to be retired? >> reporter: a gut punch any parent understands. that moment now a verse in the song. ♪ my kiddie asks me, daddy, when are you coming home from work ♪ ♪ if i'm being honest, man that hurt ♪ >> it's really tough to answer those questions. >> reporter: when are you coming home from work? >> yeah, why do you have to go play shows? can i come? why can't i come? >> my oldest is 10.

i haven't seen cry like that in a long time. so, yeah, it's hard. it's hard for them. but we're doing our best. >> my son hasn't experienced me leaving. so to be honest with you, it's a struggle to figure out how to, you know, help him be okay with it because he doesn't understand dad's gone. >> reporter: it's a tough balance, but one they all agree is worth it. their success allowing them to create the herd the world fund. >> a portion of concert tickets go into this fund, and we try to find great opportunity for it. we work with ohio state university to provide scholarship opportunities. i grew up in youngstown, ohio. it's a gritty area there could be a heck of a lot more opportunity in youngstown, and this is one way we're able to provide that. >> reporter: their new album the arcade is out now, and their touring continues. more than two decades after that first album, with new fans at shows and some long-time faithful as well, this is what

it all comes down to for o.a.r. >> we're the lucky ones, man. honestly, we just are psyched to get the opportunity to talk about this thing that we care about so much. we're not pumping our tires. we're just -- we get it. we're lucky to be doing this, a. >> yeah. >> our thanks to phil. up next, corgi parade. the furry tribute to the late queen elizabeth. the furry tribu queen elizabeth. are you tired of washing dishes? well flip the way you clean'em with dawn platinum ez-squeeze. it's an upside-down bottle with no cap. you just grab and squeeze. dawn platinum's more powerful formula breaks down and removes grease 4 times faster. nice! no flip, no mess. platinum is also a go-to grease cleaner for your sink, your countertops, and to pre-treat stains on laundry. fast. easy. dawn platinum ez-squeeze. flip the way you clean dishes.

i've got nothing to eat. nothing. hold on, i can do something. ♪ turning nothing into something ♪ ♪ turning nothing into something ♪ it's amazing what you can do with nothing, and a little best foods. for people who are a little intense about hydration. neutrogena® hydro boost lightweight. fragrance-free. 48-hour hydration. for that healthy skin glow. neutrogena®. for people with skin. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? boost® high protein also has key nutrients try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief.

and finally tonight, a special tribute to the late queen elizabeth from her favorite four-legged friends. >> celebrate the queen's life and her love of corgis. >> dozens of corgis and their owners descended on buckingham palace to honor queen elizabeth. the late queen's love of the breed was well documented. she owned more than 30 corgis throughout her life. >> they're so cute and really lovable and friendly and loyal. >> they were her constant companions throughout her 70 years on the throne. and that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu.

we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for the company, america. good night. naomi: every year the wildfires, the smoke seems to get worse. jessica: there is actual particles on every single surface. dr. cooke: california has the worst air pollution