Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick conceded the Republican Party nomination to celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz on Friday after acknowledging that a recount would not give him victory in the close race.
“It’s now clear to me with the recount largely complete, that we have a nominee,” McCormick said. “And today I called Mehmet Oz to congratulate him on his victory. And I told him what I always said to you, that I will do my part to try to unite Republicans and Pennsylvanians behind his candidacy, behind his nomination for the Senate. It is so important for Pennsylvania, so important that we beat John Fetterman.”
“Before the recount, Oz led McCormick by 972 votes out of 1.34 million votes counted in the May 17 primary,” reported the Associated Press, which has not declared a winner in the race since the margin between the two candidates was just 0.07%.
Oz becomes the first Muslim to be nominated for a U.S. Senate seat by a major American political party, and would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if he were to win in the general election against far-left Democrat John Fetterman, who recently suffered a stroke.
“I received a gracious phone call from David McCormick and am tremendously grateful for his pledge of support in the fall election,” Oz said in a statement. “We share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania & America.”
“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,” the statement continued. “I look forward to campaigning in every corner of the Commonwealth for the next five months to earn the support of every Pennsylvanian.”
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