The national drama surrounding the elections in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Arizona was made fun of on Saturday night’s episode of Saturday Night Live.
Political outsiders like Dr. Oz and NFL player Herschel Walker were mentioned as having fared very well in pre-election surveys.
The program gave these political outsiders a special chilly opening and even went so far as to criticize them in a faux interview that was based on a spoof of “PBS News Hour.”
Anchor Judy Woodruff, represented by cast member Heidi Gardner, presided over the proceedings and greeted parody versions of Oz, Walker, and Arizona gubernatorial contender Kari Lake as part of the opening act.
The section opens with Gardner’s Woodruff presenting the three contenders, each portrayed by Mikey Day, Kenan Thompson, and Cecily Strong.
The newscaster then comments that the three have become stars of the Republican Party despite starting off as underdogs in their separate contests, albeit she is unaware exactly how.
As the improbable candidates stand at their respective podiums on the makeshift set, she says, “OK, well, all three of you have been growing in the polls over the last several weeks despite none of you having any political experience.”
She then focuses on Thompson Walker, a former NFL running back who is the Republican candidate for Georgia’s forthcoming Senate race.
You are currently three points behind Senator Raphael Warnock, Mr. Walker. Why is your following expanding? Woodruff inquires, seeming perplexed by the prospective politician’s present popularity among voters.
With the Heisman winner’s distinctive Southern drawl, Thompson’s Walker replies, “And that’s where I don’t know,” seeming similarly perplexed.
“The whole universe is mysterious.” Is it not? A Thermos, for instance, keeps both the hot and the cold stuff cool. How does it make decisions, I wonder? We are thoroughly investigating it.
The former Cowboys running back simply responds, “Gas,” when asked why so many people in Georgia are voting for him despite the fact that two women have come forward to say he paid for their abortions. The cost of gas is really expensive.
Thompson said, “Like the great Trump Donald said, I can pay for an abortion in the middle of Fifth Avenue, and not lose any votes,” in character, in reference to Walker’s triumph.
He said that his kid was a “boy” last time he saw.
Day, the actor playing Dr. Mehmet Oz, who quit his long-running program last year to run for governor of Pennsylvania, clumsily boasted to the panelists that he had a fantastic “Philadelphia Cheese and Steak” while in the understated capital of the state.
Day, as Oz, explained he had a “lucky break” thanks to Democratic rival John Fetterman’s stroke – before taking a moment to shill diet pills guaranteed to help dieters lose 30 pounds in a day. This apparent attempt to appeal to Philly’s more blue-collar, folksy voter base was betrayed by the TV doc’s signature stuffy cadence.
Former Phoenix TV woman Strong’s Lake, though, praised Woodruff for bringing her on the show and denounced it as a “lovely little show full of falsehoods.”
When questioned about her denial of the 2020 election results and her support for the former president Trump, Lake instead offers her opinion on why she appeals to voters. The show openly criticizes the newswoman for trying to impress her ‘folksiness’ on residents of her home state despite having a demeanor that is anything but convincing.
She told Gardner’s Woodruff, “I’m typical Judy, I’m just an ordinary local gal perpetually in soft focus,” adding that she connected with ‘elderly scared’ voters in Arizona, a state recognized for its large senior population.
She continues, “Arizonans want to talk about the issues that affect them, like crime in New York, or crime in Detroit, or the most pressing issue, drag queen story time.” She is alluding to the recent controversy surrounding the practice of sending students to drag queen-hosted events in public schools in Florida and Arizona.
Men posing as boisterous, feisty ladies and imparting the delights of reading to kids? Not under my watch,” she said. “I’ll make sure they never have to vote again,” I’ll promise the people of Arizona if I’m elected.
Jack Harlow, a musician, served as both the presenter and musical guest for the program, which aired on October 29.
The spoof will air as the state midterm elections approach, with contests scheduled for the next week.
There are a lot of heated races, especially the ones that were parodied on Saturday’s frigid open.
A recent survey found that 51 percent of potential Pennsylvania voters support Fetterman against Oz, who experienced a stroke five months ago and consequently stumbled over his words at a public discussion last week.
The contest for the Georgia Senate is likewise very close. Sen. Raphael Warnock, the incumbent, has a sizable advantage among early voters, but challenger Walker may benefit from support from individuals who will cast ballots on election day.
Voters in the state now have a net positive opinion of Warnock of 51 percent favorable to 43 percent unfavorable, while Walker has a net negative opinion of Walker of 43 percent favorable to 52 percent unfavorable.
After declining to debate her opponent earlier this month, Katie Hobbs, who had been leading Lake by a healthy 5-7 percent for the bulk of the campaign in Arizona, is now behind Lake by only a few percentage points in many surveys.
The differences between each of the aforementioned contenders are well within the pre-election poll’s previously acceptable margin of error of 4.4 percent. The start of the midterm elections is set on November 8.