Television personality and physician Mehmet Oz thanked the voters in Pennsylvania for supporting him as the state’s next Republican Senate candidate amid an ongoing recount.
Oz and former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick’s tight race triggered the state’s recount laws following the May 17 primary.
As of May 27, 99 percent of votes cast in the 2022 primary had been counted.
The doctor narrowly leads McCormick by fewer than one thousand votes, having secured 419,621 votes to his opponent’s 418,689. The Associated Press estimates a 0.1 percent difference between the two Republicans.
“I want to take a moment to express my deep thanks for the great people of Pennsylvania who have joined me so far on this journey and supported my campaign,” Oz said in a video released on Twitter on May 27. “I am blessed to have earned the presumptive Republican nomination for the United States Senate.” It's time to unite. I want to hear your ideas and make this country’s future as bright as it has ever been. With more freedom, less big government, and by empowering our people, America’s light will shine brighter than ever. pic.twitter.com/yWK5VhCk8P
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) May 27, 2022
“I know we’ve got to heal. We’ve got to pull people together again,” he continued. “I will work with anybody who’s got good ideas.”
Oz included several digs at President Joe Biden including denouncing “high energy prices driving inflation” and “infant formula shortages caused by bad leadership.”
“I want to make this country as great as it has ever been,” Oz said. “We have all the opportunities we need in America to stay as great as we’ve always been.”
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Oz in early April.
“I have known Dr. Oz for many years, as have many others, even if only through his very successful television show,” Trump said in a statement, per The New York Post. “He has lived with us through the screen and has always been popular, respected and smart.”
Trump added that women, in particular, “are drawn to Dr. Oz for his advice and counsel.”
“I have seen this many times over the years,” he said. “They know him, believe him, and trust him.”
McCormick’s campaign released a more neutral stance on the recount.
“We look forward to a swift resolution so our party can unite to defeat socialist John Fetterman in the fall,” the campaign said in a statement.
The official results of the recount will not be released for roughly two weeks. Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman said the recount would cost approximately $1 million.
“This is the seventh time the automatic recount provision has been triggered since the passage of Act 97 of 2004, with three recounts carried out and three recounts waived by the second-place finisher. In all three cases in which the recount was carried out, the initial results of the election were affirmed,” her office said in a statement.
Pennsylvania’s 67 counties must complete the recount by 12 P.M. on June 7. Their results must be transmitted to the Department of State by 12 P.M. on June 8.
