Trump endorses celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz for U.S. Senate

Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is endorsing celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running as a Republican for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.

“Dr. Oz is smart, tough, and will never let you down, therefore, he has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump said in a statement.

Oz, known for the syndicated “The Dr. Oz Show,” brings substantial name recognition to a wide-open Nov. 8, 2022, contest that could determine control of the Senate and the fate of Democratic President Joe Biden‘s agenda.

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Biden narrowly won Pennsylvania in the 2020 election but Republicans made gains in the state legislature. Many observers expect the race to be a toss-up following the retirement of Republican Senator Pat Toomey.

Toomey was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict Trump in February 2021 following Trump’s impeachment on a charge of incitement of insurrection. The Senate vote of 57-43 fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Moira Warburton Editing by Nick Zieminski)