UNITED STATES—On December 13, 2021, world-class surgeon, healthcare advocate, nine-time Emmy Award Winner, and host of the Dr. Oz show; Dr. Mehmet Oz, announced that he will be running for Pennsylvania U.S. Senate in the November 8, 2022 Pennsylvania election. This announcement comes after the news broke that he will be ending his T.V. series as of January 14, 2022.
Dr. Oz officially declared his candidacy and launched his “America First” campaign in the following one-minute video on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
I’m running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania because America needs a Conservative Republican to cure what’s wrong with Washington. I’m a world-class surgeon, fighter, and health care advocate stepping forward to cure our country’s ills. Watch my announcement video now! pic.twitter.com/yLhKsZm9sl
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) November 30, 2021
The celebrity doctor enters the Senate race at what some consider to be a critical time in politics where both Democrats and Republicans are vying for control of the House and the Senate.
14 Democrats, 13 Republicans, 1 Libertarian, and over two dozen others are vying for a Senate seat to represent the state of Pennsylvania.
On October 5, 2020, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, announced he would not be seeking another term in the Senate. Toomey also indicated that he would not be running as Governor. He has chosen to retire and will be vacating his seat when his term is over at the end of 2023.
U.S. Army Veteran, purple heart, and bronze star recipient, Sean Parnell suspended his campaign for Senate after losing custody of his three children in recent divorce proceedings over accusations of abuse.
On December 1, 2021, Dr. Oz explained why he chose to run for the Senate in a video interview with Fox News.
On the “Dr. Oz for Senate” webpage, the celebrity doctor cited Washington’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the main reason Oz chose to run for Senate.
…” Witnessing our nation’s failings of Covid, I learned that when you mix politics with medicine, you get politics instead of solutions. That’s why I am running for United States Senate-to help fix the problems and to help us all heal… .”
Dr. Oz openly promoted the anti-malaria drug, Hydroxychloriquine as a treatment for COVID-19 catching the attention of people of influence worldwide, including the then sitting President, Donald J. Trump.
In 2016, Dr. Oz interviewed President Trump. Oz asked Trump, “When you look in the mirror, how old do you feel?” to which Trump replied, “thirty-five.”
Dr. Oz has hired a campaign team that includes high-profile Republican veterans such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in addition to using the same advertising agency that President Trump used for his television advertisements.
