Dr. Oz opponent concedes race in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick conceded the Republican primary in Pennsylvania for U.S. Senate to celebrity heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, ending his campaign Friday night.

McCormick acknowledged an ongoing statewide recount wouldn’t give him enough votes to make up the deficit. He said he had called Oz to concede.

“It’s now clear to me with the recount now largely complete that we have a nominee,” McCormick said at a campaign party at a Pittsburgh hotel.

He added, “Tonight is really about us all coming together.” Before the recount, Oz (bottom photo) led McCormick (top photo) by 972 votes out of 1.34 million votes counted in the May 17 primary. Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race because an automatic recount is underway and the margin between the two candidates is just 0.07 percentage points.

Friday’s development sets up a general election between Oz, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and Democrat John Fetterman in what is expected to be one of the nation’s premier Senate contests.

The result could help determine control of the closely divided chamber, and Democrats view it as perhaps their best opportunity to pick up a seat in the race to replace retiring two-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, acknowledged earlier Friday in a statement that he nearly died when he suffered a stroke just days before his primary. He said he had ignored warning signs for years and a doctor’s advice to take blood thinners.

Oz, 61, best known for “The Dr. Oz Show,” had to overcome millions of dollars in attack ads and misgivings among hard-line Trump backers about his conservative credentials on guns, abortion, transgender rights and other core Republican issues.

Oz leaned on Trump’s endorsement as proof of his conservative bona fides, while Trump attacked Oz’s rivals.