Daytime television has made Dr. Oz a household name. He now wants to jump into politics. But, he is a conservative and former Trump appointee. Dr. Mehmet Oz officially declared his candidacy for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat on Tuesday. Oz highlighted his medical experience as the undercurrent for his campaign launch also indicating a policy focus on the ongoing, national pandemic response.
“We have not managed our crises as effectively as past generations. 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 and to help us heal,” Oz said.
A campaign website that briefly went live on Tuesday afternoon also outlined an affiliation with WinRed, a Republican fundraising platform. “Pennsylvania needs a conservative who will put America first,” Oz said in a 60-second video on his campaign website.
In 2018, Trump appointed Oz to the Presidential Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, reappointing him to the position in 2020. Oz’s interest in the Senate race was first reported earlier this year in the Washington Free Beacon and Politico. Oz said in a 2007 interview that he would “consider” running for office someday, calling himself a “moderate Republican.”
