Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Tuesday that he was running for Pennsylvania’s open US Senate seat, saying that Americans are “angry at our government and at each other” and vowing to “help us heal.”
“We have not managed our crises as effectively as past generations,” Oz wrote in an op-ed published by the Washington Examiner. “During the pandemic, I learned that when you mix politics and medicine, you get politics instead of solutions. That’s why I am running for the U.S. Senate: to help fix the problems”.
Later in the op-ed, the 61-year-old cardiac surgeon, author and host of TV’s “Dr. Oz Show” decried heavy-handed government responses to COVID-19 that he said caused “unnecessary suffering.”
“The public was patronized and misled instead of empowered. We were told to lock down quietly and let those in charge take care of the rest,” he wrote. “When we tested positive for the virus, we were also told to wait at home until our lips turned blue and we got sick enough to warrant hospitalization. To be clear, this is not a typical medical protocol.
“Elites with yards told those without yards to stay inside, where the virus was more likely to spread,” Oz went on. “And the arrogant, closed-minded people in charge closed our parks, shuttered our schools, shut down our businesses, and took away our freedom.”
A source told The Post that Oz was expected to give his first interview as a candidate on Fox News’ “Hannity” Tuesday night.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday, citing several sources familiar with the matter, that Oz had hired campaign aides and reached out to Pennsylvania Republican leaders in preparation to enter the race.
The GOP field was shaken up earlier this month when the early front-runner, Sean Parnell, suspended his campaign after a judge ruled against him in a custody battle amid allegations that he had abused his estranged wife and three children.
Parnell, 40, had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump in August, and his unexpected withdrawal has left the GOP primary race unsettled.
“With the leading candidate getting out, that’s certainly going to create a reshuffling of the race here,” Sam DeMarco, chair of the Allegheny County Republican Party, told the Associated Press.
Oz’s political aides did not immediately respond Monday to inquiries about his potential run, the Inquirer reported. His agent and publicist could not be reached for comment early Tuesday.
Oz would enter the race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey with sizable name recognition and an estimated net worth of $100 million. He also earns a $20 million salary from his long-running TV show, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.
Not much is known about his political beliefs, but Oz has apparently considered a run for some time. After living in New Jersey for years, Oz registered to vote in Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County as a Republican last December, according to election records.
Oz has listed the home of his wife’s parents in Bryn Athyn as his residence and has voted twice by absentee ballot since that time. But he still films his show and practices medicine in Manhattan, and a spokesperson for his TV show has not expanded on his Pennsylvania residency, the Associated Press reported.
The GOP field already includes Montgomery County developer Jeff Bartos, former US ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands and conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, the Inquirer reported. Hedge-fund manager David McCormick, who lives in Connecticut, is also considering a run, but has not yet declared.
Oz said in 2007 that he would “consider” running for office one day, CNN reported, labeling himself a “moderate” Republican. Trump also named the Ohio native to the Presidential Council on Sports in 2018 and reappointed him for a second two-year term last December.
Oz concluded his Examiner op-ed with a call to “confront those who want to change the very soul of America and reimagine it with their toxic ideology.
“We need to fight for the benefit of our descendants,” he wrote. “We have fumbled the baton we’re supposed to pass to our children. And I want to pick up that baton and start racing toward our promising future.”
GOP sources told the cable news outlet Oz could be a factor in the wide-open Senate race.
“This crowd is so big and unknown,” one Republican operative told the network.
