Currently, the Republican primary race in Pennsylvania for a recently opened seat in the Senate is still far too close to call even two days since the elections were held.
After 98% of the expected vote has been counted, television host Dr. Mehmet Oz currently holds the slightest of edges over former Bush official David McCormick. Dr. Oz spots 31.2% of the currently counted vote, and McCormick holds a 31.1% share of the counted vote, as reported by The New York Times. One conservative commentator, Kathy Barnette, who has gone through a surge across the final days of the event, is sporting 24.7% and effectively ruled out of contention.
It was found that Oz performed quite well in the more eastern parts of the commonwealth, while McCormick found their success across many counties around the central and western areas. The results seen come about despite various polls in the days before the primary election that seemed to indicate an upcoming two-way battle between Oz and Barnette.
All the while, former President Donald Trump pushed Oz, the candidate who he personally endorsed, to just claim victory in the situation. “Dr. Oz should declare victory. It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find,’” stated Trump via his social media company, Truth Social.
Oz was easily seated as by far the most polarizing candidate from the Republican side throughout the Senate primaries, as reported by a poll taken by Emerson College in the run-up to these elections. Despite his stance of leading the current race, almost 48% of Republicans claimed a “somewhat or strongly unfavorable opinion” of the doctor. Republicans claimed a 32% unfavorable view of McCormick and a 28% unfavorable view of Barnette.
On Tuesday, The Pennsylvania Department of State issued a warning that the results of elections that are this close will not be made available immediately. “We expect to have unofficial results within a few days,” stated the state agency. “Given the possibility of recounts and the need for official certifications, it is unlikely that final results in all races will be available tonight.”
McCormick or Oz, once decided, will be slated to go up against Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who managed to take a win in the Democratic Senate primary, in the upcoming November mid-terms. The winner at that point will then take control of the Senate seat previously held by Sen. Pat Toomey, who is a Republican that is officially retiring after serving two terms in the Senate. Democrats, therefore, have a chance to change the seat over to their side in this general election.