Dr. Mehmet Oz, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is getting another boost from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., showing the importance of the open Pennsylvania Senate seat in the midterm race for the majority.
McConnell's Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) is pumping another $9.5 million into the race, bringing its total funding to $34 million, and a Friday ad by the SLF exposes Democrat Sen.-nominee John Fetterman for his soft-on-crime policies amid a "violent crime surge."
"Pennsylvania is a top-tier priority that is integral to our goal of electing a Republican Senate majority," SLF President Steven Law wrote in a statement. "We have long said Pennsylvania is a winnable seat if Republicans can stay competitive on air and articulate a message about improving Americans' quality of life — now we are putting our money where our mouth is."
The latest SLF ad released Friday does not mention Oz, but it does expose Fetterman's work to release prisoners from jail, "end life sentences for felony murder," support for sanctuary cities, citing media reports on his policies amid rising crime in Pennsylvania.
"John Fetterman is just too far left," the SLF concluded.
McConnell and Trump have been rivals within the Republican Party, but McConnell's leadership position might hinge on Oz defeating Fetterman to win the Senate majority this November, elevating McConnell's power position in the upper chamber.
Dr. Oz's campaign has signed up for five debates against Fetterman over one week ago and noted Fetterman has not signed up for any of the debates. Fetterman suffered a stroke this spring.
"Now that Fetterman has returned to the campaign trail for one event after a three-month break, Pennsylvanians deserve to know whether he will engage in real debates or stay hiding in his basement," Dr. Oz's campaign Communications Director Brittany Yanick wrote in a statement Friday.
"Debates are a crucial part of the democratic process, and every day that goes by, Fetterman needs to answer to Pennsylvanians, why won't he debate, what is he hiding?"
The Washington Post reported Fetterman acknowledges his stroke has affected his speech and syntax. Meanwhile, Oz won his GOP Senate primary this spring on the mantra he is a big voice for Pennsylvania, having been a popular TV personality for years.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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