June 4 (UPI) — Dr. Mehmet Oz, the TV personality endorsed by former President Donald Trump, officially won the Republican primary on Friday in his race for the U.S. Senate after businessman Dave McCormick conceded.
McCormick, who served as the CEO of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associated, conceded the race amid a mandatory statewide recount for the seat being vacated by Sen. Pat Toomey.
Oz will now face Democratic nominee John Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, in the November election.
“I’m so proud of what we accomplished in this campaign, how we saw a historic turnout in the Republican primary and I am happy to say there were 419,000 or so Republican voters who put their faith in our campaign,” McCormick said during his speech to his supporters.
“We came so close. We came so close to the goal by the slimmest of margins on election night with thousands of votes outstanding.”
After the primary, McCormick filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania court calling for mail-in ballots submitted without a handwritten date on the envelope to be counted — in a position that appeared contrast with Republican stances on voting legislation in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
“There was so much at stake and the margin so razor-thin, we spent the last 17 days making sure that every Republican vote was counted in a way that would result in the will of Pennsylvania voters being fulfilled. That’s what it’s all about,” McCormick said Friday.
“But it’s now clear to me with the recount marginally complete that we have a nominee. And today I called Mehmet Oz to congratulate him on his victory.”
McCormick said that he told Oz that he would “try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvania behind his candidacy, behind his nomination for the Senate.”
“It is so important for the country that we take back the majority in the Senate in 2022,” McCormick said. “So he has my full support and I wish him and Lisa well in the next phase of the campaign.”
Oz, 61, thanked McCormick for his “gracious phone call” and said in a tweet that he was “tremendously grateful for his pledge of support in the fall election.”
“We share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania and America,” Oz said. “Now that our primary is over, we will make sure that this U.S. Senate seat does not fall into the hands of the radical left, led by John Fetterman.”
The race between Fetterman and Oz will be highly watched as Democrats seek to hold their 50-50 majority over Republicans. It is also seen as a test of the power of Trump’s endorsement.
