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TV celebrity wins US Senate primary

Trump-backed Dr. Oz is the winner of a highly contested Republican nomination contest in Pennsylvania

The celebrity heart surgeon who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump to fill Pennsylvania’s first open US Senate seat in 12 years has won a nail-biter in the Republican primary after his opponent conceded that a recount wouldn’t yield him enough votes to overcome a narrow defeat.

Dr. Mehmet Oz had to wait nearly three weeks after Pennsylvania’s May 17 primary election to confirm his victory, as he led by just 972 votes, or 0.1%, a margin so slim that a recount was ordered. Second-place finisher Dave McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, called Oz on Friday to concede the race after concluding that he wouldn’t prevail in the recount.

“It’s now clear to me, with the recount largely complete, that we have a nominee,” McCormick told supportersFriday Night “And today, I called Mehmet Oz to congratulate him on his victory. And I told him what I always said to you: that I will do my part to try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvanians behind his candidacy, behind his nomination for the Senate.”

Oz thanked McCormick for his pledge of support heading into the November general election against Democrat candidate John Fetterman, who is currently the state’s lieutenant governor. “We share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania and America,” Oz said.

After previously appearing as a health expert on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show for five years, Oz got his own nationally syndicated daily show, in which he discussed the health concerns of his viewers, in 2009. This 13-season series ended when Oz decided to leave the show in order to run for political office.

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© Getty Images / Jared Siskin
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Oz jumped into the race last November after Trump’s previous choice for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey dropped out. His self-described “anonymous.” “America-first”He is conservative and said he was forced to run for Senate. “our system is broken.”

McCormick, who was reportedly paid $22 million last year as CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund, had attacked Oz as a “Hollywood liberal who is pro-abortion, anti-gun and anti-fracking.” On the campaign trail, Oz advocated for more hydraulic fracturing to boost US supplies of oil and natural gas.

The Ohio-born Oz, the son of Turkish immigrants, has dual citizenship and served in Turkey’s army during his college years. If elected to the Senate, he has promised to surrender his Turkish citizenship.

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Oz’s victory gave Trump an 8-0 record for the candidates he endorsed in Pennsylvania, including gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano.



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