Washington: Former US President Donald Trump has endorsed celebrity surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz, who is running as a Republican in a closely watched US Senate contest in Pennsylvania.
“Dr Oz is smart, tough, and will never let you down; therefore he has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump said in a statement on Saturday (Washington time).
Dr Mehmet Oz with Donald Trump.Credit:AP
The Senate race in Pennsylvania could determine control of the Senate and the fate of Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda. A crowded field of candidates is vying to replace the retiring Republican senator Pat Toomey.
The top Republicans in the race are Oz and David McCormick, a former hedge fund chief executive. Recent polls had Oz and McCormick neck and neck in the Republican primary contest to be held on May 17.
On the Democratic side, Pennsylvania’s progressive lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, is locked in a race against Congressman Conor Lamb, a moderate representing the north-western suburbs of Pittsburgh.
Toomey was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in February 2021 following Trump’s impeachment on a charge that he incited last year’s attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters. The Senate vote of 57-43 fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump.
Mehmet Oz at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, in February.Credit:Bloomberg
Oz, known for the syndicated The Dr. Oz Show, brings substantial name recognition to the November 8 contest.
Oz rose to fame shocking audiences with show-and-tell displays of decaying lungs and rotting livers, telling viewers they should take care of themselves.
