David McCormick, a former CEO of a hedge fund, conceded the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania to Dr. Mehmet O. He ended his campaign Friday night after he admitted that a continuing statewide recount would not give him enough votes.
McCormick made a concession after a bitter campaign in which millions of dollars were spent on attack ads. He promised to unite the party behind Oz.
McCormick stated that it was now clear to him with the recount nearly complete that there is a nominee at a Pittsburgh campaign party. "And today, I called Mehmet Oz and congratulated him on his win."
McCormick's concession ties the general election between Oz, who was endorsed former President Donald Trump and John Fetterman in an expectedly one of the most important Senate contests in the country.
Already, attack ads are being sponsored by national parties on TV in a presidential battleground that is still reeling from Trump's baseless claims about a stolen election in 2020.
This could be the decisive vote in the tightly divided chamber. Democrats see it as their best chance to win a seat to replace the retiring two-term Republican Senator Pat Toomey.
Two weeks before the primary election, Republicans began to think about a bitter primary that would be further complicated by a recount or lawsuits regarding mail-in ballots.
Pat Poprik, the GOP chair for Bucks County's heavily populated Bucks County said, "I think it will be fine, and I think there won't be any problems." McCormick was endorsed by state party committee members. "Many people that I know liked both of them, thought they were both good and had to make a decision at the last minute between them."
Oz stated in a statement that he was grateful to McCormick for his support.
Out of 1.34million votes, Oz was ahead by 972 votes. Because an automatic recount has been initiated, the margin between the candidates is only 0.07 percentage points.
Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of the state, said earlier Friday that he almost died after suffering a stroke a few days before his primary. He claimed he ignored warning signs for many years and that a doctor advised him to take blood thinners.
Oz, best known for hosting "The Dr. Oz Show" on daytime TV, had to face a torrent of attacks ads and misgivings from Trump supporters about his conservative credentials on guns and abortion rights.
Oz, 61 years old, leaned on Trump’s endorsement as proof that he was a conservative. Trump also attacked Oz's rivals while Oz maintained that Oz has the best chance to win in November in the presidential battleground.
Oz had no history with the Republican Party, but he had a close friendship with Trump dating back almost 20 years. Trump also told Oz in 2016 that his wife was a huge fan of Oz's show.
