Dr. Mehmet Oz, a heart surgeon best known as the host of Dr. Oz Show, announced Tuesday that he will run for the Pennsylvania Senate as a Republican, seeking to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.
“Pennsylvania needs a conservative who puts America first, one who can rekindle our divine spark, boldly fight for freedom and tell it like it is,” Oz said in a video posted on Twitter. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, the longtime television host attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.
I’m running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania because America needs a conservative Republican to fix what’s wrong with Washington. I am a world-class surgeon, warrior, and health care advocate striving to cure our country’s ills. Watch my announcement video now! pic.twitter.com/yLhKsZm9sl
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) November 30, 2021
Oz, entering a political campaign for the first time, said his decision to run was largely based on the federal government’s mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“COVID has shown us that our system is broken,” he said. “We have lost too many lives, too many jobs and too many opportunities because Washington was wrong. They took away our freedom without making us safer, and tried to kill our spirit and our dignity.”
The doctor’s announcement comes shortly after Trump-backed candidate Sean Parnell withdrew from the race amid a divorce and custody battle.
Businessman Jeff Bartos and former ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands are still running in the Republican primary, while former undersecretary of the treasury for international affairs and current CEO of Bridgewater Associates David McCormick is also reportedly considering running for a Senate seat.
