Buckle up, folks: it’ll be a wild midterm.

For Pennsylvania—a consistent swing state in the national election—the midterm elections will decide several big party seats this November. All eyes and ears are on the Senate seat sought by two strong voiced up-and-comers: Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Fetterman is the current Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor. According to his campaign website, johnfetterman.com, the Democratic candidate “doesn’t look like a typical politician, and more importantly, doesn’t act like one.” What this means is spelled out on the same page: he supported marijuana and same sex marriage before they were cool, and supports single-payer (essentially public) healthcare.

The photo of him on the website presumably explains the appearance gap between him and a “typical” politician; Fetterman stands, towering, tattooed, and notably bald, in a fall jacket and denim pants.

Oz is a retired surgeon and television personality who served on Donald Trump’s Council of Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. According to his campaign website, doctoroz.com, he has spent “the last 30 years in medicine taking on powerful special interests and telling people like it is—that you have the power to change your life for the better.” According to his Twitter: he will “cure what’s wrong with Washington.”

Oz appears on his website with a soft smile and in a sharp suit humbly inviting you to donate to his campaign. The facade almost works.

The 2022 Pennsylvania Senate race is a perfect portrayal of the consequences of the Trump Administration: a big TV personality figuring out that he can influence politics and running for office. And of course, Oz is well within his rights to do so. Nothing precludes him from running, nor campaigning, nor winning the Senate seat.

But should he?

The increasing party polarization that we saw during the 2020 election and events prior are here, albeit on a smaller scale, for this race. Oz is cast in this theater as a wealthy man attempting to buy his way into Congress, while Fetterman is cast as a gang-loving, unprofessional Communist.

But as with the 2020 elections, the Republican party has been forgoing nuance and shooting themselves in the foot all year long. After all, what shows your dedication to rural, middle-of-the-road Pennsylvania like complaining about spiking cost of crudites and telling the state you only own two houses? (Spoiler: he owns 10 residential properties).

In fact, most of Oz’s talking points come straight from the hyper-republicanism handbook—firm border control, expanded gun access, and the same ‘America First’ rhetoric we heard from the Republican party for the better part of a decade. Oz is enabled by the 45th president and follows in his footsteps. Donald Trump even endorsed him as a candidate earlier in the spring, and it’s no surprise. Their Hollywood Walk of Fame stars lay pretty close to one another; birds of a feather flock together.

However you cut it, and however you plan to vote, figures like Donald Trump and Mehmet Oz represent a devolution in American politics. Celebrity culture and political culture should never overlap, but it was only a matter of time before the rich and famous figured out that they could use their wealth to buy their way into government power.

The midterm is a month away, but there’s less than a month to register. If you’ll be 18 on or before November 1, go to vote.org and register today. Encourage your family and friends to do so as well.