Mehmet Oz appeared as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania on Friday after Republican rival David McCormick relented, ending weeks of intrigue in the much-disputed race, as a count showed no signs of changing the outcome. .
The decision, more than two weeks after the May 17 primaries left the two candidates separated by less than 1,000 votes, allows the famous surgeon known as Dr. Oz to advance as the undisputed GOP candidate. Now you can completely launch his campaign for the general election while Democratic candidate, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, remains sidelined by a stroke, with no clear timetable for returning to the election campaign.
The McCormick movement it put an end to an extraordinarily expensive and sometimes bitter primary fight between two ultra-rich opponents, one of which continued in a legal fight this week.
But days across the state Count, it had become clear that McCormick, an Army veteran and former hedge fund CEO, was not gaining enough votes to make up for the gap. Even the big counties, reviewing thousands of votes, were only seeing small changes of one or two votes per candidate.
McCormick, speaking at a Pittsburgh hotel Friday night, said he called Oz to congratulate him and would support his former rival in the general election.
“It is clear to me now, with the counting largely over, that we have a candidate, and today I called Mehmet Oz to congratulate him on his victory,” McCormick said in a brief speech with his wife, Dina Powell. McCormick, by his side. . “I told him what I always told you, that I will do my part to try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvania behind his candidacy, behind his Senate nomination.”
Oz is now advancing as a Republican candidate in one of the most critical Senate races in the country, having won the backing of former President Donald Trump in a highly competitive primary.
A run in the Pennsylvania Senate is one of the few that will likely determine control of the House, and with it the fate of much of President Joe Biden’s agenda later this year.
»READ MORE: David McCormick is not winning the count against Mehmet Oz, and is running out of options
“This evening I received a kind phone call from David McCormick and I am very grateful for his commitment to support the fall election. We share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania and America,” Oz said in a statement. shortly after McCormick’s announcement. “Now that our primaries are over, we will make sure that this seat in the United States Senate does not fall into the hands of the radical left, led by John Fetterman.”
Oz, 61, gained his fame, personal wealth, and Trump’s endorsement of his first public office.
Spending more than $ 12 million on his own fortune, he overcame a barrage of McCormick attack ads and a late rise by conservative commentator Kathy Barnette. If elected, he would be the first Muslim to serve in the Senate.
Oz’s victory is also a kind of victory for Trump, and the former president’s push to show that he still dominates the GOP. In such a close race, his endorsement cannot be ruled out, but the narrow margin also shows that Trump’s word is hardly decisive with primary voters.
Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon who turned an excellent medical career into a television fame (with the assistance of Oprah Winfrey), now has the opportunity to join the higher levels of the U.S. government. Like Trump, he campaigned as a “conservative outsider” in the entertainment world that would bring a different approach to Washington.
His campaign reflected in many ways the TV show that made him famous, with a similar logo, crowds gathered around a stage and the doctor took people out of the audience so he could check his blood pressure. spectacular way.
But Oz, after living in New Jersey for decades, faced questions about his ties to Pennsylvania. He grew up in Delaware and while he he went to medical school and business at the University of Pennsylvania, he has spent more than three decades living in New Jersey and working in New York. He too faced some Republican voters over past statements that broke with conservative views on issues such as guns, abortion and fracking. He disapproved of many of these comments and expressed very conservative views during the primaries. Oz has said he moved into his in-laws’ home in Montgomery County in late 2020 and bought a property there earlier this year.
Polls showed that even among Republicans, many voters viewed Oz negatively after the coups of McCormick and his allies. Trump endorsed the conservative credentials of Oz, a shield the surgeon used repeatedly against attacks by GOP rivals.
While Republicans are portraying Fetterman as too liberal for Pennsylvania, Democrats highlight the questionable medical advice Oz delivered on television, and, more recently, his reinforcing statements Trump’s false claims about the outcome of the 2020 presidential race in Pennsylvania.
»READ MORE: Fetterman says” almost died “, but cardiologist says his prognosis, despite ignoring medical advice, is now good
“Mehmet Oz, originally from New Jersey, is a scammer and a scammer who only looks after himself,” said Jack Doyle, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “He is a selfish millionaire who has made a fortune by marketing healings and baseless claims that endanger people’s health, and his policy is just as harmful: to support the ban on abortion and to promote the conspiracies of Donald Trump on the 2020 election. “
Oz and Fetterman will now run to replace Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who is not seeking re-election.
“REALLY LIVE IN PENSILVANIA !!!” Fetterman tweeted shortly after McCormick’s announcement, linking to a photo of Oz kissing his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He asked for donations “to help me beat Dr. Oz of New Jersey in November.”
McCormick’s concession on Tuesday limited a roller coaster ride.
It included a famous TV star, tens of millions of dollars in advertising, the fall of Trump’s first-round pick, Barnette’s sudden rise, and Fetterman’s stroke days before the primaries.
The end too close for the GOP, the count and the legal struggle which followed only added more twists.
McCormick, who had long-standing ties to elite financial and political circles and had served in the George W. Bush administration, had also never run for office. He spent millions of his own money, along with many more of his wealthy supporters, on a career that took him a hair’s breadth from the Senate nomination.
But he faced questions about his attempts to present himself as a conservative “America First.” He grew up in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, but lived in Connecticut for more than a decade before buying a home in Pittsburgh late last year, just as he was preparing for his Senate campaign.
Oz was Trump’s second pick in the contest. In August, the former president had backed Sean Parnell, a decorated conservative and veteran author, briefly making him the favorite. But Parnell’s campaign collapsed less than four months later, in late November, after his estranged wife, under oath, accused him of verbal and physical abuse during a custody trial. Parnell, also under oath, denied the allegations, but a judge sided with his wife.
Parnell’s departure opened the door to the new tickets. Oz joined the contest eight days after Parnell left.