Oz’s ties to Turkey attacked in Pennsylvania’s Senate race

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Mehmet Oz’s rivals in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for U.S. Senate are escalating their attacks on the celebrity heart surgeon’s connections to his parents’ native country of Turkey, raising it as a possible national security issue.

Oz, best known as TV’s Dr. Oz, has rejected any suggestions he is a threat to national security and has accused his opponents, particularly GOP rival David McCormick, of making “bigoted attacks.” If elected, Oz would be the nation’s first Muslim senator.

The criticism of Oz and his ties to Turkey has mushroomed in the weeks after Oz won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who remains deeply popular with conservative voters. With the state’s May 17 primary quickly approaching, Oz is locked in a tight three-way race with McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, and conservative activist Kathy Barnette, according to a recent Franklin & Marshall College poll.

Trump is holding a rally with Oz in western Pennsylvania on Friday evening, coming off a big win in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary. Trump’s candidate, JD Vance, who will also be appearing at Friday’s rally, was trailing in the polls before Trump’s last-minute endorsement vaulted him to the top of the seven-way race.

Oz, who was born in the United States, holds Turkish citizenship, served in Turkey’s military and voted in its 2018 election, but says he would renounce his dual citizenship in Turkey if he is elected.

Trump’s former secretary of state and CIA director, Mike Pompeo, who endorsed McCormick in the race, told reporters Friday that Oz owes an explanation about the “scope and the depth of his relationship with the Turkish government.”