Midterm campaign updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate

The Republican candidates for governor and Senate in Pennsylvania on Thursday sought the support of energy leaders at Shale Insight, a three-day conference in Erie convening industry heads from Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, who spoke back-to-back, talked encouragingly about Pennsylvania’s energy potential and vowed to tap into the state’s resources to bring jobs and economic growth.

“The key is underneath our feet,” said Mastriano, who pledged to roll back hundreds of regulations were he to win his race against state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

The joint appearance was rare for the statewide Republican ticket, whose campaigns have developed a somewhat cool relationship as Mastriano and Oz differ on key issues and have received different levels of financial support.

Oz, who spoke first, had left the ballroom with family and staff by the time Mastriano took the stage moments later. Neither mentioned the other while speaking.

-- ABC News' Will McDuffie

The Republican candidate to be Pennsylvania's governor, Doug Mastriano, appeared to take unusual measures to avoid questions on Wednesday as the RV that typically shuttles him between campaign events left a stop without the candidate on it after ABC News waited by the vehicle.

When ABC arrived at the small meet-and-greet in Galeton, a town of less than a thousand people near the New York border, the bus, embroidered with the campaign’s logo, was parked in front of a motorcycle shop hosting the event.

But toward the end of Mastriano’s remarks, when ABC went to the bus to meet the candidate as he walked toward it, as he did at the previous stop, the RV had been driven to the back of the building, near a rear door.

As ABC News waited by the bus, a campaign spokesperson named Matt walked out, said Mastriano would not have time for questions and then reentered the building.

A few minutes later, the RV backed away and drove out of sight.

On the other side of the building, an attendee confirmed that Mastriano had left in a car.

If Mastriano was in fact avoiding questions from the press, it would not be the first time he’s done so. But six weeks from Election Day, amid a campaign underfunded and shunned by some national Republican groups, Mastriano appears to forging ahead with a strategy focused on conservative grassroots turn-out in towns like Galeton.

-- ABC News' Will McDuffie

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Security and intelligence agencies are boosting their efforts to monitor online threats of political violence -- which some experts say have been exacerbated by election denialism -- as November's midterm races rapidly approach.

"We're seeing these conspiracy theories and other narratives being promoted online by extremist groups and conspiracy theory organizations like QAnon. On the other hand, we're seeing mainstream public figures in government in politics, even in the media, mimic and amplify these fringe narratives, these conspiracy theories. And that's very powerful in the sense that it tells people that these ideas aren't that wacky," John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security intelligence official, told ABC News.

As intelligence officials see election conspiracy theories rapidly become part of the cultural mainstream, agencies are spending more time trying to combat the misinformation before it leads to violence.

Chris Rodriguez, the director of the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, which helps track threats and inform law enforcement officials, told ABC News that the danger from right-wing extremists has grown.

"We've really seen an evolution of the threat. We're seeing a lot more threats toward local elected officials, for example, people in communities who actually run elections," Rodriguez said. "We've also seen calls for what is referred to as a quote 'second Civil War,' which is, again, very troubling and very concerning."

Now, Rodriguez's agency is doubling down on the coordination of information-sharing with partners.

"We've been communicating with authorities in Pennsylvania and Ohio and Arizona and Colorado to make sure, again, that we are we're doing the best that we can to keep our election officials, people who are administering elections and the public at large, safe and secure."

-- ABC News' Lalee Ibssa

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom again criticized his party's midterm campaign strategy in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday from Austin, Texas, blasting Democrats for what he called ineffective "messaging problem" that has persisted for years.

"We need to be more assertive to wake folks up," Newsom said.

"There's no doubt states are on the front lines of the rights battle. Period. Full stop. And the Supreme Court now has made that crystal clear … We allow these culture wars to take shape. And we consistently are on the back end of them."

The remarks follow a speech he made this weekend at the Texas Tribune Festival, where he said the Democrats are "getting crushed" by their GOP opponents due to their backseat campaign style while Republicans "dominate with illusion."

The one-term blue state governor has said he does not plan on running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024 despite increased national media appearances and political ventures, like his reelection campaign's rental of pro-abortion billboards in six states with near-total abortion bans.

On Wednesday, he said Democrats can turn it all around, "if we go on the offense."

"That's why I'm doing the billboards. That's why I'm doing these ads. That's why I'm doing these TV commercials in other states. Take it to them," he said. "People are losing their rights. We can't sit by but you've got to push back. We've got to hold them accountable. And yes, we prepare ourselves for the great reconciliation, and that's to come --- because we can't, for no other reason, we can't live like this."

–ABC News' Libby Cathey