if it's tuesday, it's an election year, it's a special "mtp daily." we're live from battleground pennsylvania on the banks of the mighty river. it's fun to get the music. good day. i'm chuck todd. behind me is pennsylvania where on the ground here with one week to go until some of of the most important primaries on the midterm caendar. we're talking to voters, candidates and officials in a state that could very well decide which party controls the pietsz united states senate in november and pennsylvania might be the most pivotal battleground in 2024. the senate race features primaries in both parties that are crowded, contentious and diverse. and they are very reflective of

the national issues facing each party right now for republicans. the testing of the power of trump for democrats, it's the latest round of the moderate versus progressive fight. we'll be in philly for more on the democratic side, but today here in northwestern pennsylvania, we want to talk more about the republican party and trump's power in it. it's our focus here in the battleground pennsylvania and we might get some additional clues about the current kra trajectory of the gop because republican primary voters are voting right now in nebraska and west virginia. a pair of gop races that will put trump's power and populous stances and influence to the test. both states feature a race where the former president is backing what some believe is a more flawed candidate while others are sticking with a more establishment candidate. it could shed some insight on the republican race right here. where dr. oz has the former president's backing, but he's struggled to break free from the

primary pack. he's a newcomer to politics and had to deep dive into maga world after having a different political identity while appearing on television. david mccormick are on the airways big time. and at the psalm time, it's political newcomer kathy barnett who may be the spoiler here. she's seen a late rise in polling despite spending a fraction of the money. we're going to talk to her live tomorrow. so all of the pennsylvania republicans are trying to out trump each other, despise oz having the formal backing. what was interesting i was at a campaign event where mccormick stopped to talk to me. the event itself was about the need for better trained workers and didn't hear much red meat at all. you didn't hear about the trump stuff. but then when i asked how he planned to win the nomination,

this is all he had to say. >> how do you win this without trump? >> i'm not doing anymore interviews. >> thanks, guys. >> thank you, david. >> for what it's worth, we had a robust conversation about immigration or need a labor workforce here in pennsylvania. that was some substance there. after that though, when trump's name came up, they had to go. so we got a lot to talk about here on the ground. joining me now is dasha burns who has been spending most of her time in this part of pennsylvania as part of our county to county midterm project. also with is the loel guru here. and we'll be joined by lisa sylvester from pittsburgh on the other side of the state. she's had the benefit of moderating both a republican and

democratic senate debate in recent weeks. dasha, you have been on the ground here. let me start with you. the fascinating part to me about mccormick's event is what wasn't said. i was the first one to bring trump's name up. in fairness, he didn't even say the word republican until the very end. if you didn't watch the tv ads, it was almost discombobulating. >> that's a very different picture to what we have seen on the air ways and at the rallies and from all of these candidates. oz has the trump endorsement, but all of the other candidates are trying to represent the trump brand. and when you talk to voters, which we have been doing nonstop, as soon as the trump endorsement happened, i called voters and every single one of them was scratching their head. they didn't understand why oz was running. they didn't understand why he was running in pennsylvania. >> would you have gotten this same reaction had he endorsed mccormick?

>> no, i don't think so. they know him as a celebrity doctor who talks about products on television. they do not know him as a politician, as somebody who understands the issues and they don't see the trump alignment there other than the celebrity. and when we watched the first debate, every single time, he brought up the trump endorsement, people groaned. the groans grew louder each time he brought it up. and the voters that we watched came out saying these two front runners were seeing their names everywhere, but there are these mega rich guys. i don't really understand how they can connect with me and represent me. so they came out of this a little disallusioned. >> andy, one thing i did hear mccormick say a lot is how many ties he has to the state of pennsylvania. 7th generation pennsylvanian he said at one point. obviously, he thinks he has to continue to establish this, but is that the way to certificate of keep knocking oz?

>> i think it is because i have covered several mccormick events and that is a common theme. i own a farm in bloomsburg, pennsylvania. and he's played high school sports. he's been very careful. >> when you're talking about in anywhere in pennsylvania, bloomsberg, small towns, then the folk who is are the trump supporters would be driving through the highways and you'll see the trump flags. >> do you think oz and mccormick have either one of them actually tapped into the maga base? those folks are sniffing them both out here? >> i don't think they have. i don't think they have because they are so close. kathy barnett, people i have spoken toen of the streets say she's resinating with folks. is she the real conservative republican in this race in

pennsylvania. you mentioned before you're talking about the celebrity of dr. oz. i think people do give a good vibe from oz because he's like a trump-type personality. trump wasn't a lawmaker. he was a celebrity. they are trying to think is this the same kind of plue print to success. >> dasha you have been talking about your voters. >> i don't think that's necessarily sticking. when you look at the polls, oz, 18%, mccormick, 16%, that's not a whole lot of of the vote. 40% are undecided. that's a massive number of people one week out. we went door knocking with two ladies that call themselves trump gals. they are huge trump fans. and they have been door knocking for three weeks for another underdog this in this race. they think oz made a mistake. they knocked on doors in west moor land county.

they have not met a single oz supporter. and they were surprised by that. when we went door knocking with them for a couple hours, every single door that opened was an undecided voter. >> very interesting. one thing that some of us overlooked in '16 and none in '20, trump's political organization is quite strong in pennsylvania they did a bunch of voter reregistrations between '16 and '20. are you seeing evidence he's able to flip that switch for oz yet? >> i think he can. i know we're a week away from the primary and in the political world that's like blink of an eye. because the race is so close, if you have all these undecided, those supporting oz are not attacking donald trump. they are saying we respect him. we don't respect his decision. do i think he can flip the switch, absolutely. we were talking in 2016 when donald trump took the ride down the escalator.

what i heard in pennsylvania, there was a lot of people saying they would be laughing at him now, but he's speak whag we're talking about at the dinner table. >> i'm about to bring in lisa here. but i got to ask you this in case i don't get another chance. oz fedorman in pennsylvania, who would play better here? >> that's like rocky balboa the sequel. i think right now at this point in time, a week before, i think fedor man. >> he could overperform an average democrat right now. is it easier against oz or mccormick? >> easier against oz because he's from pennsylvania. he's a local guy. he speaks the language of the democrats. but also a little bit of conservatism in there also. >> this is the story from the east part of the state. let's dpo to the other side of

the state where i have my colleague lisa sylvester. you have moderated both debates. you get an idea, obviously, of what's resinating. who is resinating the best in this republican primary out there? i think of beaver county, i know that's trump country. whose playing best in beaver county? >> well, it really comes down to celebrity versus sincerity. so oz, obviously, has the celebrity factor. he has the wow. people know him. they know his name from the years of being on television. but i got to tell you coming out of the debate, the one person that a lot of people were saying, hey, let me take another look at was kathy barnett. you have seen her numbers rise since the debate. and the reason why i think is because she comes across as more sincere. so if you are looking for the america first candidate, a lot

of people are taking another look at her because she doesn't just sort of speak the talking points. you really get the sense she lives them, has ha history, has held these believes for awhile. mccormick and oz, it's a head scratcher because you're like well, maybe this is what they really believe, but maybe it's not. especially when you see the attack ads. kathy f you look at the amount of money spent in this race, she has spent nowhere near the amount of money that mccormick and oz have intent, yet she's resinating and i think it's because she's doing a grass roots, 1,500 miles traveling across the state. people see her as sincere. they see her as authentic. >> lisa, i know we have a big satellite delay. appreciate you giveing us a few minutes there. dasha, let me bring it back to you. what she just described is what i hear people say about john fedor man. they are not traditional, but

there's a good paradigm. >> it's the language used about trump. i'm hearing voters say the exact same things. not the typical politician about fedorman and kathy. she has an unconventional story and has been doing the grass roots work. she's been all over pennsylvania. in this ways, her talking points when you listen to her, match up very clezly with what a lot of the trump base want to hear. and like i said, some people are impressed that someone with less money and name recognition, people like an underdog. >> trump was outspent left and right in '16. on every level. if you catch enough traction, you don't need to be the big spender. >> i can tell you going back to 2016, who would have thought in pennsylvania a rich guy from new york or a lot of money who had never been involved in politics running for office can win and flip this county, which is a belle weather state. and we're doing shows here why?

because we saw in 2016. can he flip it to oz this time around? i think he did. can. as dasha was talking before, there's different dynamics. people don't want your typical politician. we have seen that. been there, done that. someone that knows what we're feeling. >> mccormick isn't running away with it because if the republican party could chiz the a perfect candidate. >> he looks exactly like mitt romney's republican party. that would have been a winner. >> at the same time, the question i have is for the 40% of undecided voters. at the end of the day, will they say there's not enough time to do all this research. trump say this is guy is it. i talked to one gentleman who owns a bar. he told me he flipped from democrat to republican to vote for trump. he still considers himself a democrat, but he voted for

trump. he wants a republican victory because the economy he blames biden for inflation and his business suffering. he said trump might be the final factor because trump picks winners. >> andy, before i let you go. i have to ask about bob casey jr. voting the way he's voting on abortion rights. you have been covering politics slightly longer than i have. the casey name, this was when i thought of the picture of pro life democrat in the political dictionary, bob casey sr. was on it, why jr. won by so many points. how will that play here? how does his shift on abortion rights play here? and what is the line? are you going to get punished for being a ban or fewer exemptions? >> i think it will be a factor with the abortion issue for sure. i can't remember the convention it was, bob casey was not

allowed to come into the room. i have been around longer as well, but will it play big time. i think so too. as you saw casey several years ago, he's a juggernaut in pennsylvania. he's a respected individual, well liked. but i think on the abortion situation, the real conservative folks are going to say we respect him. we don't respect his decision on the abortion issue. it could be a big factor. and what was interesting to me today, this was an event that mccormick was having at a technical school where essentially the energy capital of the state this area right now, it's understandable. not a bit of any of that social conservative red meat. not a lick of it. are you seeing the rhetoric on the trail heat up on abortion rights or no? >> no. and that's been the big surprise to me. on the democratic side, yes.

but not on the republican side. even the voters have been repeating what you're hearing from republican politicians talking abts the leak, the issues with the supreme court. not about the actual contents of that leak. i'm not hearing that from voters. i'm not hearing that from candidates. >> i get the sense dr. oz does not want to have a detailed conversation about abortion. >> if i do hear about it, i hear voters saying that oz guy. >> is he really pro life. >> when you watch political ads, we know what they are. we know what the beast is. but they are not denying what you have said, whether you change your mind. it's not deny whag you said. i think a true conservative and here in the keystone state, that matters to them. on such a big issue, how do you change that quickly. >> it's hard to understand how you switch on an issue like that. it's one thing on trade policy. it seems different. >> not with abortion though. >> good to see you. sgl my pleasure.

>> thank you. terrific work. up next, one of the reasons we picked this county a as a place to watch is because it is representative of a sea change in american politics. where long standing loyalties to the democratic party have shifted to the right. we're going to speak with two officials who had an up close and personal experience with this changing electorate. they join me here onset, after this short break. you're watching a special edition of "mtp daily." l edition of m"mtp daily." bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes

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we mentioned at the beginning of the show we're in pennsylvania. one of the areas of the state that has grown republican.

lust certain after going for democrats in the previous four elections. fpzzerne after going for democrats in the previous four elections. fpz we have been watching this shift. what that d that continue to look like. and what can it tell us about the larger sea change in american politics ahead of the primaries? i have a couple guest who is have been dealing with this changing electorate. the current state senator john and the mayor george brown. mayor brown, senator, good to see you both. mayor, let me start with you. this used to be a pretty strong democratic area. a lot of union democrats, culturally conservative, but economic populous. we have watched this shift. tell me about it through your own lens. >> wils but ri is a strong democratic city. a majority is democratic, but when you talk about the county,

it's more of a 50/50 split. he had a commanding lead with the democrats when he ran against biden. about 5,000 less democrats than when he ran against hill ri. it depends on the candidates running and whether you're a democrat or republican, that's how they decide which way to vote. do they feel a relationship with their candidate. do they feel the vlues they are putting out is what they are looking for. wils bar is a democratic city. >> it's tough to be in the middle. i'm aware of left and right don't like that these days. tell me why you did it. >> i think the party that captures the middle, whether that's the middle class or the middle of the road voter is the one that can govern. we have the two bases of the

respective party, the republicans and democrats, their base, they are bankrupt. they are driven more by outrage and hate against one another than they are about rallying around behind the city, the commonwealth or the country. that's why i moved from the democratic party. i grew up my father was united work. blue collar roots, very deep in my family for generations. when the democratic party particularly at the national level, not only started to dismiss those blue collar voters, but to demonize them, that's when i decided. >> policy wise, i have had progressives say who is actually advocating for better policy for these folks. >> i'll give you a great example. i was a big advocate for an energy project here in luzerne county. a project that's going to be transformative for the region. $25 billion economic impact and right on the environment.

but because it was tied to natural gas, 50% of the senate democratic caucus voted against legislation that would provide an inseptemberive to this company. not only did they vote against it, when we had a rally with union building trade workers, fighting for their jobs, the rallying cry of the progressives and far right was your jobs don't matter. that's when i decided i need to get to the is ernt to get away from the extremes on both the right and the left to try to rally the middle. the middle class and the middle of the road voters to get back to common sense policies in this commonwealth. >> the energy sector has been important to economic development around here. obviously, there's concern about climate change and some concern about what would you say to national democratic leaders about both the importance of that and how do you pitch climate change proposals that don't scare people around here.

>> let's be honest. there's a change in the climate. people can debate that and say yes and no. we have held rallies in the public skbar square. we have to take a realistic approach to this. there is a problem. we have to make sure that we address it, but at the national level, the lead verse to do this. as a city, we're going to follow whatever they put out if i believe in my heart it's the right way to go. but it is serious. it's real. and also i do implore our congressmen and senators and our president to take this seriously and make sure that we take the proper stance here. >> how would you sell it? how would you appease the senator here? the concern about the issue of these regulations half the democratic party doesn't want to

use government investment for the energy sector. >> i think it's going to be necessary down the road. it's going to have to happen. the senator and i, we have agreed on several key issues over the last three years that i have been in office. the senator has been a wonderful help as far as securing funds for us for different projects we have going on. so we are alike in several ways as far as the major policies that we want want to push through. you're right. we have to get together in unison and work on this. we have to do something about the energy problem. right now, $4.59 a gallon, that's not going to cut it. >> i see $6.50 for diesel. that's scary when you see that number there. i'm curious, senator. when you got rid of the d and put the i there, does it make it harder to legislate? that's the -- there's a huge desire, voters say they want more independent candidates. but it's hard to function. >> it's a great question.

as a student of politics as you are, the conventional wisdom would be yes, it make it is much harder from the middle and independent party. that wasn't the case. some of my biggest legislative achievements have been in the last three years because i was, one, independent, two, in the republican majority, and three have many democrat friends like the mayor here in the city. we are able to crosses the aisle. that's what voters want to see. can you accomplish tangible things. unfortunately, pennsylvania has closed primaries. independents can't vote. so only the extremes dominate the primary election. and i think that's what you see playing out in states that have closed primaries. if you had a more robust primary, you'd be able to have that debate and legislators would not have to be looking to primary opponents rather they would be looking appealing to general election voters. >> give me the most difficult to decide. tell me the two candidates if they face each other that will

make your decision harder. >> in this pennsylvania primary? i think oz and fedor man would be a very tough decision for me. someone on the democrat you can side like connor lamb who would represent this area well who got the endorsement from the philadelphia inquirer, a rather progressive newspaper. he's a candidate that can add value versus a candidate that just adds a vote. i think both candidates are more about celebrity than they are substance. so that would be a very difficult challenge for voters in the northeast between oz and fedorman. >> who would do best? >> connor lamb and dr. oz. dr. oz has the name, the publicity and the money. i like some of his values that

he's put forth. i would see that as a battle between the congressman and dr. oz. >> i appreciate it. good to talk to both of you. >> thank you. what chamber of commerce weather you brought here today. >> we knew you were coming. >> literally, not a cloud in the sky. if you can find it. >> we couldn't do anything two years ago. >> lester now knows who gets more love here. mayor brown, john, thank you both. up next, we'll head to the other side of the state back to beaver county. another place we put on our county to county spotlight. and another place where republicans are making end roads to what used to be traditional democratic-leaning new yorkers. you're watching "mtp daily" in pennsylvania. you're watching "mtp daily" in pennsylvania

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and in it. mostly. here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand. over 2000 high quality products. rigorously tested by us. real world tested by you. and delivered to your door in as little as one hour. president biden vowed to be the most pro union president. just last week he met with the leader of amazon's labor union and in ohio he called the single best workers in the world. union workers have long been a key voting bloc for biden and democrats. but republicans have made major end roads with these voters as well in some places really scrambing the political terrain

in battlegrounds across the country we saw it in eastern iowa, here in pennsylvania, and we see it where we find my colleague washington correspondent who is in beaver county, pennsylvania. a place that was heavily a democratic pro union county. and it's still pro union, but it's not so pro democratic. >> reporter: that's certainly right, chuck. and last night, i was about an hour north of pittsburgh, on the border of ohio. and listening to a town hall with the united steel workers talking about sort of the things that are important to them which are worker rights and retirement, and talking about the divisions, the differences. listen to what one one of the leaders had to say about those differences. >> i think union members are no different than anybody else. they don't live in a vacuum. temperatures not just about labor issues. they also are concerned about women's rights. they are concerned about education. in some parts of the state, gun

rights are a big issue. but at the end of the day, typically what we find is working people vote their paycheck. what's going to pay my bills. what's going to keep a roof over my head and put my kids through school. >> reporter: so bernie hall was trying to make the case in that meeting that workers should really be voting with their pocketbooks. they cannot be thinking about the political atmosphere where they are voting. he was talking about the supreme court case and the decision to overturn roe v. wade. if the the supreme court can overturn a law from 1973, what about the 1935 wagner act that said companies had to organize and had to negotiate rather with the unions that were helping employees get better wages. it was a real interesting connection to hear him make that case. >> i'm curious. if the answer is no, it's no. did you see any evidence of the senate candidates sort of making a play for any of those workers

last night? >> john fetterman was popular among that crowd. he came and talked to workers. it might be the shorts, it might be the fact he feels more like them. but he apparently made a very good pitch to them. they feel good about that. i will tell you that one union leader said something to me that stuck in my head. it's really going to come down to the three g's. and that is god, guns and gynecology. >> that's an interesting third g that we have not heard before. the reason i am curious on the republican side, they are closed primaies. i know there aren't a lot of registered republicans among labor union members, but it is something that is growing. no evidence of any republican candidates trying to win these votes? >> reporter: republicans, a lot

of the work i'm being told is on the media. it's what information people are taking in. so i was listening to union leaders talk about how do we balance what our workers and our fellow union workers are listening to on the radio. they are saying the message from conservatives are that democrats want to take your gun. the democrats are going to be against abortion. so they shouldn't be voting for that. so they are going with the meaning into the cultural issues while on the other side, you heard union leaders try to explain to a loot of the members and try to strategize about how to make workers understand that workers rights, retirement, the infrastructure bill, some of the things that president biden has passed that that is what's in their best interest. you can feel the tension in the room and the culture it seems to be working. except i said john fetterman, who was meeting them with the culture the way he dresses and talks trying to give a message to working class americans. they were handing out these forms, which really had x's by them trying to say the democrats

have your back and republican dots not. >> right. the evidence just keeps piling up as to explain why so many national democrats have turned away from kolb north and started focusing on john fetterman here. they see him as their best candidate to win this senate seat. i'm going to see you tomorrow on the other side of the state. we'll meet in philadelphia. thanks for your work out there. coming up, president biden tries to ease fears of surging inflation nationwide. democrats face anxious voters in their district. i have seen $6.50 diesel. you're watching a special edition of "mtp dail." n of "mt."

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november will be on that vacant senate seat, thanks to retiring republican pat toomey, democrats here and nationwide are facing the likelihood of losing control of the house. last hour president biden laid out his plan to address the issue that's become perhaps the biggest liability and the top concern for voter this is year. inflation. >> i want every american to know that i'm taking inflation very seriously, and it's my top domestic priority. my plan is to lower everyday costs for hard working americans. and lower the deficit by asking large corporations and the wealthiest americans to not engage in price gouging and to pay their fair share in taxes. the republican plan is to increase taxes on the middle-class families, let billionaires and large companies off the hook as they raise profits and raise prices and

reach record profit amounts. >> i'm joined by chrissie houlahan, whom the campaign committee says holds one of the most kmettive seats in the state. it's good to see you. thank you for spending a a few minutes with with me. >> it's nice to be with you. thanks for joining us in pennsylvania. >> so, look. $6.50 diesel. you see it. it really stings. $4.50 is bad enough for regular gas. so you see this everyday reminder of this inflation hit. you heard the president's remarks. what more do you want from him? what more do you want from the administration ragt now? >> sure, thank you for having me. you're not wrong. those are difficult prices to see. and something that we all collectively need to address in whatever capacity we can from each of our roles. so what i would say for my role,

the message i would like to project to you is that democrats in this congress have for the last several years been able to stop what could have been a catastrophe, what could have been a depression of the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time. we didn't experience that. as a result of the american rescue plan and the infrastructure act and the cares act and a number of other things, we have been able to layer on the help that has allowed our economy to survive. and now we are absolutely experiencing some of the other side effects that. and we are in a place where we in my community have 3.2% unemployment. a really good economy and we certainly need to address the fact that gas prices are a problem and grocery store prices are a problem. we also need to recognize we are still here standing two years after a literal pandemic. >> there's two things that the

administration could do arguably. the fed, they have what it can do with interest rates. but there are two things that could be done with policy. one is you mentioned the unemployment rate. we actually have a labor shortage. we need to open the borders a little bit. obviously, politically, that's a different conversation. the second is to repeal some of the tariffs on chinese products. are you for a spaghetti at the wall approach by this biden white house? pull some tariffs, add immigrant labor, whatever it takes to lower cost of living. >> what i certainly am for some of those things. i did encourage the administration to make sure that we opened the strategic oil reserves, which we did. i have encouraged the administration to encourage the fact that all of our pipelines and oil that had been pre-pandemic be activated, the

rigs put into a dormant position were reactivated. in terms of immigration, i absolutely believe we have a real problem with not enough people to fill our jobs. whether they are on our mushroom farms or headquarters here in my district. we need to have comprehensive and bipartisan immigration reform. i really do think that's something that the congress can do that i've bye-bye encouraging my colleagues to do alongside with me. so you're right, each one of us has a different role to play. the administration has their role. the fed has theirs and the congress has ours. and as democrats, i believe we are working very hard to make sure we're working on behalf of all of the people, the working people of our communities and our economy to make sure we are instead of taking things away from them, we are providing opportunities for us to survive and to thrive. >> tell me your midterm message. between the issue of reproductive rights and the fact that women may have rights take

wan from them that were oncen granted. you have the inflation issue. they are not two issues that easily go together when you're making your elevator pitch. how do you plan to do it? >> my community is that purple place in pennsylvania. that's why you're probably sitting here talking to me it's that place with 40% democrats. and we want to soo our government work for us on behalf of us. we are a pragmatic people and we want to work on what i call the no duh agenda, which is making sure we provide terrific health care for all of us, making sure we have terrific educational opportunities for us all. great jobs that treat one another with decency. all of those things, but the other thing when you kind of alluded to in terms of choice, we want to make sure we're protecting the rights that we have and the fact that we are all equally able to be successful in this economy and in this society.

so overarching that is the zifltty and decency that we all demand from one another. and choice is part of that conversation. >> democrat hs a hard time selling the economy last year when there was a lot manufacture positive news. so you have to sell this. we got handed another crisis, third straight democratic president that gets handed a crumbling economy and able to turn it around. but at same time, you have a voter that says i don't like the way biden is managing this economy, but i don't like the direction of the supreme court are you worried about losing that voter? >> i think our community is a very pragmatic community. it's weighing its options.

so what we brought home to our community is rules that are open. we brought home ppp homes, emergency disaster loans, shuttered venue loans, restaurant loans, we brought home the opportunity for teachers to be able to be vaccinated. these are all of the things that we have as messages that have allowed our community to be still open at this point in time. and so that alongside with some of the larger joer arching issues of choice and freedoms i think are what i hope is the right message and the strong message to say as i mentioned that democrats are very much about unifying people. i believe that republicans, at least the ones in this race are about dividing. >> do you have a preference in the democratic primary for senate? >> i do not. i look forward to finding out who that person is. and i very much look forward to

throwing myself behind that candidate. >> fair enough. congresswoman houlahan from a pretty important swing district in the suburbs of philadelphia, thank you for coming on and sharing your perspective. this special edition edition of the press" daily, we're live from luzerne county. it continues after this short break. break. this... is the planning effect. this is how it feels to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. this is what it's like to have a comprehensive wealth plan with tax-smart investing strategies designed to help you keep more of what you earn. and set aside more for things like healthcare, or whatever comes down the road. this is "the planning effect" from fidelity.

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welcome back. tomorrow, "meet the press daily" will be heading south past allentown and king of prussia to phil for much more on next week's primary elections in pennsylvania. before we bid wilkes-barre fairway, here's conversations that dasha burns had with voters in the area about next week's big primary. >> it always says this is the senate race that dr. oz is. you get a reaction right away. no, we don't trust him. he's gone too woke. >> what about you? >> yeah. >> you admire that trump did endorse oz, did that have any impact on your view of him? >> i thought he made a mistake. thought he's getting the wrong advice, you know, from people. and that's what everyone is saying. he's getting the wrong advice. who advised that. >> trump, the guy that you changed parties for endorsed oz. >> yeah. >> that influence your influence

your opinion? >> it does in the sense that donald trump in my opinion picks winners. i don't think -- he knows he's electable and who is not. that has a lot of going forward. >> you know, dasha, i guess if i were to say what did i come away with so far on this trip, there's a lot of clarity on the democratic side all of a sudden. almost everybody seems to expect that to be the nominee. nothing but a muddy picture on the republican side. trump's endorsement of oz muddied things up. >> pennsylvania is not ohio. as you say, pennsylvania is not ohio. here, you have the ink blot test, you can see maga in whatever candidate you look at. if you're a die-hard fan of pennsylvania, you kind of have your pick. the reason pennsylvania is the biggest trump test yet is because of this resistance to oz. if oz does win, that's going to say a lot about the trump

influence. >> if oz wince here, that really means that 40% decided was waiting for the trump pass. >> ultimately said, okay, i'll do it. >> it's very interesting. no matter what, we're going to have quite the general. you don't get to leave. northeastern pennsylvania becomes even more important. >> i mentioned a condo in luzerne county. >> they'll be happy, that's for sure. dasha, thank you. we'll see you all in philadelphia tomorrow. we'll have exclusive profile of john fetterman and his wife. a fascinating interview. and the senate from each party, live on set with me, kathy barnett and malcolm kenyatta. you won't want to miss it. "katy tur reports" after this break. "katy tur reports" after break.

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♪♪ good to be with you, i'm katy tur, it's day 76 of russia's war in ukraine. here's what we know right now. russian air strikes targeted ukrainian cities in the east and south overnight including the port city of odesa. ukrainian officials say at least seven missiles were fired by russian aircrafts hitting a shopping center and a warehouse. president volodymyr zelenskyy is calling for international help in clearing a russian blockade of odesa on the black sea. zelenskyy says the blockade threatens the world's food supply, not just ukraine's. and directly to the east in mariupol, russia