Dr Mehmet Oz, the controversial doctor who came to public attention through his appearances on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show, looks set to be the Republican nominee for a US Senate seat, representing Pennsylvania.
With nearly all votes counted in the primary held this week, Oz had won 417 840 votes out of over one million cast. However, this was barely 1 000 votes ahead of the nearest challenger, David McCormick, a businessman and former Under Secretary in the US Treasury. McCormick had 416 752 votes at the time of writing.
Oz is running to succeed a fellow Republican in the Senate, Pat Toomey, who is retiring.
Oz will face John Fetterman of the Democrats. The colourful Fetterman, the current Lieutenant Governor of the state (effectively the deputy Governor), is known for his casual style of dress, and reportedly owns only one suit, which he wears only when he presides over the Pennsylvania Senate, which has a dress code.
Fetterman easily won the Democratic primary, also held this week, with nearly 60% of the vote. This, despite suffering a mild stroke last week (from which was thought likely to make a full recovery with no lasting damage).
Analysts believe the senate race will be close. Pennsylvania is seen as something of a swing state, with neither Republicans nor Democrats dominating the region’s politics in recent years.
[Image: World Economic Forum, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18227588]