Democrat John Fetterman won the Senate race in Pennsylvania in the midterm elections on Tuesday against Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was strongly backed by former President Donald Trump.
Fetterman, who has served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2019 is projected to win by 50.1 percent against Dr. Oz’s 47.5 percent.
The senator-elect sent a message through Twitter thanking his supporters for flipping the Senate seat to the Democrats:
“We bet on the people of Pennsylvania—and you didn’t let us down,” he said. “And I won’t let you down. Thank you.”
“I never expected that we were going to turn these red counties blue,” he said. “But we did what we needed to do.”
Thank you, PA! 🥰 pic.twitter.com/qooOxb1sqK
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) November 9, 2022
The race between Fetterman and Dr. Oz dominates US midterms
The race between Fetterman and his Republican rival Mehmet Oz was among the most high-profile of the election.
Fetterman had a strong lead earlier in the campaign but suffered a stroke in May. He stayed out of the public eye for months afterward instead relying on television advertisement to build a polling lead over his opponent, celebrity surgeon Oz, whom he painted as a super-wealthy, out-of-state political opportunist.
Dr. Oz, a Trump-backed Republican, shot to fame on The Oprah Winfrey Show before hosting his own long-running TV program. However, Winfrey, the woman considered to have launched his showbiz career, has publicly endorsed his opponent.
The son of Turkish immigrants, Oz was raised in Wilmington, Delaware and graduated from Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania. A dual citizen of the U.S. and Turkey, Oz served in the Turkish army during the 1980s for sixty days. It was a mandatory training, specifically for citizens who reside in foreign countries and wish to maintain their Turkish citizenship.
Dr. Oz’s candidacy was opposed by Greek and Armenian groups
Critics allege that Oz maintains close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Greek and Armenian organizations in the US had joined forces to prevent Dr. Oz from winning the Senate seat in Pennsylvania.
The #StopOz campaign was launched by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) and the Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) recently.
“We’re seeing growing alarm across Pennsylvania—driven in large part by ANCA coalition advocacy with the Hellenic American Leadership Council—over Dr. Oz’s troubling ties to Turkish dictator Recep Erdogan,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.
“Dr. Oz’s candidacy has been defined by false pretenses—pretending to be a Pennsylvanian when he actually lives in New Jersey, pretending to dispense medical advice when he is actually peddling snake oil,” said Hellenic American Leadership Council Executive Director Endy Zemenides.
VIDEO: @ANCA_DC and @HellenicLeaders are working to #StopOz – ally of Turkish dictator Recep Erdogan and paid agent for Turkey’s state-owned @TurkishAirlines – who:
– Votes in Turkish elections
– Served in Turkish military
– Denies #Armenian #Genocidepic.twitter.com/Dh3Wpx68Sh— ANCA (@ANCA_DC) August 25, 2022
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