Senate Democrats targeting McCormick, Oz ahead of recount

As the Pennsylvania Senate Republican primary undergoes a recount, Democrats are going after both of the possible GOP nominees.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) released two ads on Thursday attacking Republican candidates Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick, who are separated by roughly 900 votes, or about 0.1 percentage points, with Oz leading.

The winner will face off against Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who cruised to victory in the Democratic primary.

The DSCC’s ads aimed to cast Oz as a “Hollywood scam artist” and McCormick as a “Wall Street insider.”

“While Republicans remain locked in their never-ending, intra-party fight, Democrats are wasting no time in ensuring voters know that neither scam artist Mehmet Oz nor Wall Street insider David McCormick can be trusted to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate,” said DSCC spokesperson Patrick Burgwinkle. 

“Both Oz and McCormick were already limping out of election night — and the weeks ahead will ensure whichever GOP candidate ultimately emerges will be entering the general election even more badly damaged,” he added.

In response, spokespeople for both Oz and McCormick sought to tie Fetterman to Biden, who has struggled for months with low approval ratings.

Brittany Yanick, Oz’s communications director, said the “Biden/Fetterman agenda is wrong for Pennsylvania” in an email to The Hill.

“John Fetterman’s radical agenda harms Pennsylvania workers and makes our communities less safe. Pennsylvania needs to send a bold leader to Washington, like Dr. Mehmet Oz, who will stand up for our values and help heal our great country.”

McCormick campaign spokesperson Jess Szymanski called Biden “out-of-touch” and “tone-deaf” in an email to The Hill, pointing to his recent statement that he was not aware of the severity of the infant formula shortage until April.

“As a 7th generation Pennsylvanian, combat veteran and successful businessman, there is no one better to defeat socialist John Fetterman in the fall and revive our economy,” Szymanski said.

The ad attacking Oz, titled “Showtime,” highlights his career as a celebrity physician, where he is best known as the host of “The Dr. Oz Show.” The ad criticizes Oz’s endorsement of weight loss cures questioned by many scientists.

“Doctors have called him a fake who endangers patients, willing to peddle anything to make it in Hollywood,” the ad says as footage rolls of Oz kissing his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“And now, in politics, too,” the ad continues.

The ad also says Oz is “pretending” to be from Pennsylvania and is “pushing [former President] Trump’s election lies.” Oz received Trump’s endorsement early in his campaign, and the former president held a rally to support Oz’s bid in the weeks leading up to the primary.

The ad attacking McCormick lambasts him for his time as a hedge fund manager and for previously living in Connecticut, saying he moved to Pennsylvania to “buy a Senate seat.”

“He got rich cozying up to China and outsourcing jobs,” says the ad, titled “Has Its Price.”  

“He took taxpayer money and promised to create them here but fired Pittsburgh workers instead,” the ad says.

The close GOP election automatically triggered a recount under state law. McCormick filed a lawsuit asking a state court to order that some 860 mail-in ballots with missing dates be counted.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a brief administrative stay pausing the count of some mail-in ballots in a contested 2021 judicial election in Pennsylvania over similar issues. The dispute could affect the legal challenges in the GOP Senate primary contest.

Fetterman suffered a stroke just before the primary election last month but easily defeated Rep. Conor Lamb (D). Fetterman’s wife told Politico on Wednesday that his doctors are “really impressed” with his progress but they weren’t sure when it would be safe for him to return to the campaign trail.

The race to succeed retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is among the most competitive Senate contests of this year’s midterm elections. Democrats are eyeing the race as a key pickup opportunity as they seek to hold or expand their razor-thin Senate majority.

Updated at 3:51 p.m.