TRUMP-BACKED MEHMET OZ WINS REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FOR US SENATE

Sat 04 June 2022:

After hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick conceded Friday, celebrity cardiac surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz won Pennsylvania’s Senate primary election.

“I received a gracious phone call from David McCormick and am tremendously grateful for his pledge of support in the fall election. We share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania & America,” OZ wrote on Twitter. “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.”

McCormick said he would do his part “to try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvanians behind” OZ’s candidacy.

Oz, who received more than 31% of the vote, will face Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman in November.

Former U.S. President Trump has endorsed more than 190 candidates in the midterm contests, trying to solidify his status as the Republican Party kingmaker. His picks have not always prevailed.

Trump endorsed Oz in April, after his previous pick in the race dropped out when his estranged wife alleged physical abuse and he lost a battle over custody of his children.

Oz and McCormick both positioned themselves as champions of Trump’s populist “America First” agenda.

“I look forward to campaigning in every corner of the Commonwealth for the next five months to earn the support of every Pennsylvanian,” Oz said on Friday.

Oz, 61, is a Harvard graduate heart surgeon, New York Times bestselling author and self-styled wellness advocate who is best known as the host of daytime television programme The Dr Oz Show. He had to overcome a barrage of attack ads and misgivings among hardline Trump backers about his conservative credentials on guns, abortion, transgender rights and other core Republican issues.

He leaned on Trump’s endorsement as proof of his conservative bona fides, while Trump attacked Oz’s rivals and maintained that Oz has the best chance of winning in November in the presidential battleground state.

Oz had had little history with the Republican Party – but he had a friendship with Trump going back almost 20 years and, as Trump told him in a 2016 appearance on Oz’s show, “you know my wife’s a big fan of your show”.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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