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Former hedge fund manager David McCormick said on Friday that he had granted Mehmet Oz the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, paving the way for the famous doctor backed by former President Donald Trump to move forward. the general election in one of the most important elections of the year. races.
Oz will now face Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (D) on a key battlefield in the Senate control struggle. The race has been in limbo for weeks, as Oz’s razor-sharp advantage counted and when Fetterman, a Liberal candidate who easily won the Democratic nomination, recovers from a stroke that left him aside just before the primaries.
McCormick said Friday that he concluded he could not make up for the deficit between himself and Oz after 17 days of “making sure all Republican votes were counted.”
“Is now I am clear, with the count largely completed, that we have a candidate, “he said, noting that he called Oz earlier that day to congratulate him.
Oz tweeted Friday night that he “received a friendly phone call” from McCormick and said that with the primaries over, they would make sure the Senate seat “does not fall into the hands of the radical left.”
Democrats are advocating a narrow majority in the Senate in this year’s midterm elections. Pennsylvania, a battlefield state where Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey is retiring, is seen as a critical front in the struggle for control of the upper house of Congress.
The Republican primary, in which Trump supported Oz, was also a testament to the former president’s notorious influence on Republican voters. His record has so far soared this season, with his endorsed candidate suffering recent defeats in the Georgia, Nebraska and Idaho Governor-General primaries to accompany Senate victories in his Ohio, Carolina election. of the North and now Pennsylvania.
Right after the May 17 primary, Trump had moved to unfoundedly discredit the Republican primary in Pennsylvania, then too close to the call, urging Oz to declare victory before the vote count is over and trying raise your concerns about the ballots by mail without showing up. any proof of their claims. Oz previously called himself the “alleged” winner.
Trump’s endorsement in April pushed Oz despite the suspicions of other GOP members, who questioned the doctor’s record as a Conservative and highlighted his dual citizenship in the United States and Turkey. Oz has vowed to relinquish his Turkish citizenship if elected.
Republican Sean Parnell, Trump’s first pick in the Pennsylvania Senate race, ended his 2021 campaign amid allegations of domestic abuse.
While Trump’s support has been key in some Republican primaries, it remains to be seen to what extent Republicans will rally around his endorsed candidates. Some pre-primary polls found that many Republican voters had a negative view of Oz.
McCormick highlighted the high-profile games of the Senate race on Friday and conveyed to supporters that he told Oz, “What I always told you is that I will do my part to try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvania behind their candidacy “.
Democrats are already trying to use Republican candidate ties with Trump against them in some key general election races, including in Pennsylvania. President Biden’s low approval ratings and inflation concerns have created strong headwinds against Democrats in the medium term and are looking for ways to overcome those obstacles.
Opponents of Oz have highlighted his track record of giving questionable medical advice on “The Dr. Oz Show.” Patrick Burgwinkle, a spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, denounced in a statement on Friday as “a fraud and a scammer who will do, say and sell anything to help himself, no matter who is harmed.”
Attacking Oz as a “selfish millionaire,” Burgwinkle turned Oz into “a different and more dangerous kind of Republican” with extreme views on abortion and support for Trump’s false and relentless claims that his 2020 election loss was was affected by fraud. In a debate in April, Oz said “we can’t move on” from the 2020 race.
Fetterman said Friday that he “almost died” last month after his stroke and revealed in a statement that his condition was much more serious than his campaign had previously indicated. He said he should have taken the medication he was prescribed in 2017.
In response to Fetterman’s health scare last month, Oz noted his work as a heart doctor.
“I have cared for patients with atrial fibrillation and witnessed the miracles of modern medicine in the treatment of strokes, so I am grateful that you have received such prompt care,” he tweeted. “My whole family is praying for your speedy recovery.”
Oz led McCormick by 947 votes to more than 1.3 million when the top state election official ordered a statewide count last month. The counties had until June 7 to count the ballots and until June 8 to forward their findings to the secretary of state.
McCormick’s campaign had hoped that the contested mail ballots could help close the gap. But Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. this week has slowed the counting of those votes as the Supreme Court reviews a lower court’s decision to include them.
Felicia Sonmez and Colby Itkowitz contributed to this report.