Former hedge-fund manager Dave McCormick conceded Friday evening to celebrity surgeon and Trump favorite Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s Senate GOP primary race.
Oz, who recently received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, is now the Republican nominee for the Senate in the state and will face Democratic candidate Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman in November.
As of late last month, the election was headed for a recount after Oz was projected to win by 0.08 percent, securing only 902 votes more than his opponent after all counties submitted unofficial vote tallies. That met the benchmark of a less than 0.5 percent winning margin to trigger an automatic vote recount.
“It’s now clear to me with the recount now largely complete that we have a nominee,” McCormick said at a campaign party at a Pittsburgh hotel, the Independent noted. “Tonight is really about all us coming together.”
“I received a gracious phone call from David McCormick and am tremendously grateful for his pledge of support in the fall election. We share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania & America,” Oz tweeted Friday night.
“Now that our primary is over, we will make sure that this U.S. Senate seat does not fall into the hands of the radical left, led by John Fetterman. I look forward to campaigning in every corner of the Commonwealth for the next five months to earn the support of every Pennsylvanian,” he declared.
The race for the Senate seat in the fall could possibly shift the political balance of power in the now evenly divided chamber.
After being neck-and-neck front-runners for much of May, Oz and McCormick faced unexpected competition from conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, who surged in the polls in the final stretch of the campaign. Before the recount, Oz had 31.21 percent of the vote, McCormick 31.14 percent, and Barnette 24.66 percent.