Former television doctor and Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz revealed on Tuesday night that Fox News host Sean Hannity has been giving him campaign advice in recent months.
“I want to thank Sean Hannity. Sean has been like a brother to me. When Sean punches through something, he really punches through it. He understands exactly how to make a difference and he’s been doing that this entire campaign,” Oz said during an election night speech with the Senate primary race still too close to call.
“He’s been doing that, much of it behind the scenes. Giving me advice in late night conversations — again, the kinds of things that true friends do for each other,” he said.
As of Wednesday morning, Oz remained in a dead heat for the GOP’s Senate nomination with businessman David McCormick.
Oz has been endorsed by former President Trump and appeared on Hannity’s prime time Fox News program regularly since announcing his campaign.
Hannity has come under scrutiny from critics for his close personal relationship with Trump and a number of his top allies and aides during his time in the White House.
Late last month, a House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot released dozens of text messages between Hannity and Trump’s then chief of staff Mark Meadows showing the pundit coordinating and strategizing with Meadows.
Later on Wednesday, Kathy Barnette another Republican in the race who conceded on Tuesday she was too far behind to win, blamed her loss on Hannity.
“Never forget what Sean Hannity did in this race,” Barnette said in a video posted on social media. “Almost single-handedly Sean Hannity sowed the seeds of disinformation every night for the past five days.”