Oz Won Pennsylvania GOP Senate Nomination By Under 1,000 Votes, Recount Confirms

Topline

Dr. Mehmet Oz defeated former hedge fund CEO David McCormick in last month’s Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary by just 951 votes, according to a statewide recount whose results were released Wednesday, officially setting the stage for Oz to face off against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in a general election for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat.

Key Facts

As of two weeks ago, Oz led McCormick by just 902 votes—or 0.07 percentage points—in unofficial results from the May 17 primary, well under Pennsylvania’s 0.5-point threshold for a mandatory recount.

Following a recount of over 1.3 million ballots from all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, Oz and McCormick each gained hundreds of votes, and they retained sizable leads over Kathy Barnette and several other candidates.

Key Background

A physician and former daytime TV host, Oz entered the contest to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R) late last year. Oz earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement last month, after which he gained ground in pre-election polling and eventually overtook McCormick, a former Bridgewater Associates CEO who was backed by Trump-era Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The primary was occasionally bitter: Both Oz and McCormick accused each other of being fake conservatives, and Trump attacked McCormick’s hedge fund background while Pompeo claimed Oz’s previous ties to Turkey posed national security concerns (the son of Turkish immigrants, Oz was born in the U.S. but voted in Turkey’s 2018 election).

What To Watch For

The general election battle between Oz and Fetterman—who is off the campaign trail as he recovers from a stroke—is expected to be tight. Pennsylvania is one of several states with GOP-held Senate seats that Democrats are seeking to flip, as they fight to retain control of the Senate despite national polling that narrowly favors Republicans.

Surprising Fact

Oz called himself the “presumptive” winner of Pennsylvania’s Republican Senate primary 10 days after the election, even though a mandatory statewide recount was about to begin. Trump went even further the morning after election night, encouraging Oz to prematurely declare victory and suggesting—without evidence—the race was tinged with fraud.