Dr. Oz Jumps Into GOP Senate Race In Pennsylvania

Could this be just what the doctor ordered for the GOP to win back the Senate?

Uber-popular TV doctor, Dr. Mehmet Oz says he will declare his candidacy for the Senate in Pennsylvania, joining a competitive Republican primary field in the crucial battleground state. “Dr. Oz’s” desire to toss his hat, or stethoscope as the case may be, into the ring has been confirmed by multiple sources.

The announcement by the 61-year old Oz – a cardiac surgeon, author, and host of TV’s “Dr. Oz Show” – was widely expected as he’s already been assembling a campaign staff in the 2022 race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey. The high-profile Senate contest could ultimately decide if the Democrats hold on to their razor-thin majority in the chamber.

Oz enters the GOP Senate primary with sizable name recognition – thanks to his long-running TV show. Oz grabbed national attention more than a decade ago when Oprah Winfrey introduced him to her program’s massive audience. He would also be able to self-fund his Senate bid by dipping into his estimated net worth of roughly $100 million.

The candidate has lived for years in New Jersey, but Oz registered to vote as a Republican last December in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County, using the home of his wife’s parents in the affluent Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Athyn as his residence. According to election records, he’s voted twice by absentee ballot in Pennsylvania this year. Oz previously lived in the Keystone State decades ago, as he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s medical school and Wharton business school in 1986.

Oz is a political outsider and first-time candidate, and he will face scrutiny as little is known about his political beliefs. And also, he’s sure to face serious questions over his sometimes controversial medical advice. He’s been criticized by his peers for promoting diet pills that other doctors have slammed as a sham.

Last year, during numerous appearances on the Fox News Channel amid the coronavirus pandemic, he promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19.

The GOP Senate race in Pennsylvania was rocked a week ago when former congressional candidate Sean Parnell, the perceived front-runner in the Republican field, who enjoyed the backing of former President Donald Trump, suspended his campaign hours after he lost a bitter fight for custody of his three children to his estranged wife.

Among the current leading contenders in the field of nearly 10 GOP candidates are Jeff Bartos, a real estate developer and longtime GOP fundraiser who was a 2018 candidate for lieutenant governor, and Carla Sands, a business executive and Republican donor who served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark during the Trump administration.

After Parnell’s departure from the race, Trump made it clear that he’ll likely weigh in again in Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary.

“#PASen remains a top priority for Pres. Trump & the ‘22 MAGA Map—rallying our movement behind the best America 1st candidate remains critical,” Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich tweeted last week.

Oz has a connection to Trump, as the then-president named him to the Presidential Council on Sports in 2018 and last December reappointed Oz for a second two-year term.

In response to Oz’s candidacy, The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) argued that “Oz’s campaign announcement demonstrates the chaos which is engulfing Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary.”

“The influx of unqualified, untested, and wealthy Republican candidates in this race will intensify the viciousness of their intra-party fight and leave their ultimate nominee badly out of step with Pennsylvania’s general election voters. The GOP will find Oz is no miracle cure for their mounting problems in this primary,” DSCC spokesperson Patrick Burgwinkle charged.

Seven Democrats are running for their party’s Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, including Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Rep. Conor Lamb.