Dr. Oz says he's earned 'presumptive Republican nomination,' even ...

(CNN) Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz released a video on Friday in which the celebrity doctor calls himself the "presumptive Republican" nominee on the same day counties can begin recounting ballots in the commonwealth's tight GOP primary.

Oz currently holds a roughly 900-vote lead over former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick in the contest for the Republican nomination. CNN has not made a projection in the race.

"I am blessed to have earned the presumptive Republican nomination for the United States Senate," Oz says in the straight-to-camera video . "This was a tough campaign, I traveled everywhere. You guys were pretty honest sharing with me thoughts, worries you had, you don't feel like you're being heard."

Oz goes on in the video to position himself more as a general election candidate, telling voters he is going to "reach to every corner of this commonwealth," work with "anybody who's got good ideas" and "bond together" to "solve all of our problems."

Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman announced on Wednesday that the margin between McCormick and Oz was within the 0.5% automatic recount threshold after all of Pennsylvania's counties reported their unofficial results to the state on Tuesday.

Read More

Primary election takeaways: Pennsylvania results, Trump's impact

With Doug Mastriano's primary win in Pennsylvania, the "Big Lie" could again dominate another election.

Embattled GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn lost his primary race in North Carolina.

Several candidates of color won their primary races Tuesday night.

WASHINGTON – The "Big Lie" that Joe Biden did not win the presidency dominates the 2022 primary elections, nearly two years after the 2020 presidential election.

In a win for former President Donald Trump, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a retired Army colonel, won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania on Tuesday night. Mastriano has repeatedly supported Trump's falsehoods about Biden's victory, although he attempted to tone down his rhetoric during a victory speech.

Who is Kathy Barnette? Senate candidate running in Pennsylvania

The GOP primary race for Senate in Pennsylvania appeared to come down to two candidates: the Donald Trump-endorsed celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz and millionaire former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick supported by top Republicans. But in a new poll, Kathy Barnette, a political commentator, appears to have made it a three-way race.

Barnette’s late surge has alarmed some prominent conservatives, including Trump, who warned that Barnette could “never” win in a general election and raised questions about her past.

The latest RealClearPolitics average poll showed Barnette less than three points behind Oz, and less than one point ahead of McCormick.

More coverage:Pennsylvania's candidate-packed, toss-up, celebrity-laden Senate race could decide control of Congress

On Politics newsletter:Keep up with the latest breaking politics news

Trump is backing 'Dr. Oz':What to know about the ex-TV show host running for Senate in Pennsylvania

Who is Dave McCormick?:Former hedge fund executive running for Senate in Pennsylvania

Who is J.D. Vance?:The Trump-backed Ohio GOP Senate nominee

Who is Kathy Barnette?

Barnette is best known for her career as a political commentator. She has appeared on Fox News and other conservative TV shows. She also hosts a Christian talk radio show.

According to her campaign site, Barnette had a career in corporate finance and served 10 years in the military reserves. She also was an adjunct professor at Judson University in Illinois. Her first campaign for Congress failed in 2020, when she lost an election for a House seat to Democrat Madeleine Dean.

She is originally from the South, where she grew up living in poverty on a pig farm, according to her campaign website.

As the possibility that Barnette could win the GOP grew days before the election, high-profile conservatives began raising concerns about Barnette’s past.

Fox News host Sean Hannity, who is backing Oz, expressed concerns in a segment on his show Thursday about Barnette’s past homophobic and anti-Muslim tweets, saying they would make her unelectable in the general election.

Trump echoed the same in a statement Thursday.

“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump said in the statement. “She has many things in her past which have not been properly explained or vetted, but if she is able to do so, she will have a wonderful future in the Republican Party.”

Barnette's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

How old is Kathy Barnette?

Barnette is 50 years old and was born in Alabama.

Who has endorsed Kathy Barnette?

The most well-known individual endorsing Barnette is Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser who publicly called on the former president to institute martial law following his 2020 presidential election defeat. A number of state legislators and Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, a Republican, are backing Barnette as well.

What is Kathy Barnette’s platform?

Barnette’s platform is in line with much of the GOP’s agenda.

It includes proposals such as banning so-called “critical race theory” from schools, achieving energy independence while opposing the "Green New Deal", implementing a tougher “merit-based” immigration system and codifying the “Remain in Mexico” asylum policy started under Trump.

Barnette has promised to serve only two terms as Senator if elected and not to own any stock during her time in office as part of a pledge to “Remain True to My Oath and Root Out and Punish Corruption.”

Barnette is also anti-abortion, pro-gun rights and vowed to protect free speech, suggesting the break up of “big tech monopolies” in one of her proposals.

Dr. Oz: High-stakes Pennsylvania GOP primary that could shape ...

(CNN) The Republican primary for Pennsylvania's US Senate race , which could be key to determining control of the chamber in November, was too close to call early Wednesday as Mehmet Oz and Dave McCormick battled for the top spot with thousands of mail-in ballots still to be counted.

The race to replace retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey had been dominated by millions of dollars in negative advertising, mostly between Oz, the celebrity doctor backed by former President Donald Trump , and McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, and their allies.

In the final days before Tuesday's primary, political commentator Kathy Barnette had appeared poised for a late surge as she tried to claim the "Make America Great Again" label, attempting to channel concerns about Oz's conservative bona fides among Trump supporters. But by early Wednesday, Barnette was trailing in third place.

While Oz held a razor-thin lead Wednesday morning, advisers to McCormick were confident of their candidate's path to victory.

"Based on how many uncounted absentee ballots there are and the margin by which Dave has won them so far, that's why we are confident of victory. Dave will win this race," Jeff Roe, chief strategist to the McCormick campaign, wrote in an overnight message on Twitter.

An adviser to Oz pointed to ballots yet to be counted in Philadelphia, where the candidate currently holds a double-digit edge, as well as several counties across the eastern edge of the commonwealth where he is leading McCormick.

"It's a jump ball," the Oz adviser told CNN.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman , who suffered a stroke last week that kept him in the hospital for the final days of the primary, will win the Democratic nod for Senate, CNN projected Tuesday. His victory over moderate Rep. Conor Lamb is a win for progressive Democrats in a race that represents the party's best chance of flipping a seat this fall.

It appeared to be a mixed night for the former President, who has been preoccupied with trying to pick winners in midterm contests ahead of a possible 2024 White House bid. One of the candidates he backed in an 11th-hour endorsement -- Pennsylvania Republican Doug Mastriano, who championed his election lies -- will win the gubernatorial nod in the Keystone State, CNN projected.

But one of Trump's acolytes in Congress, North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn , was ousted after a fierce campaign to unseat him by some of his fellow Tar Heel Republicans -- proving that Trump isn't enough of a lifeline to rescue the most controversial candidates.

In Idaho, incumbent GOP Gov. Brad Little will win reelection, CNN projected , fending off an unusual challenge from his lieutenant governor, Janice McGeachin, whom Trump had endorsed.

Election denier wins Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary

In a state that was pivotal to the 2020 election, Mastriano is seeking an office that would allow him sway over the state's electors in the 2024 presidential contest. He will face Democrat Josh Shapiro, the current state attorney general, in November.

In a taste of the bruising race to come, Shapiro immediately put out a statement Tuesday night calling Mastriano "a dangerous extremist who wants to take away our freedoms," charging that the Republican would seek to "restrict the vote and spread conspiracy theories."

Mastriano took a leading role in amplifying those false claims, and spent more than $3,000 from his campaign account to charter buses to Washington ahead of the January 6, 2021, "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the attack on the US Capitol, according to state campaign finance records.

In the immediate aftermath of the insurrection, Mastriano condemned the violence in a video posted on Facebook, but video and pictures from the event show him near the Capitol, raising questions about his involvement.

In his victory speech Tuesday night, Mastriano rejected the "extreme" label, arguing that Democrats' Covid-19 public health measures were extreme.

"On day one, any mandates are gone. On day one, any jab for job requirements are gone," he said to cheers. "There is a movement here that is going to shock the state this November."

Madison Cawthorn loses

Cawthorn, the controversial freshman congressman backed by Trump, conceded his North Carolina primary to state Sen. Chuck Edwards on Tuesday evening, according to Cawthorn's spokesperson.

Cawthorn's concession marked a stunningly quick fall for a young conservative once viewed as a potential star within the GOP after he succeeded Mark Meadows, who left Congress to become chief of staff to Trump.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis had backed Edwards, telling CNN it was the first time in his career that he'd opposed a sitting Republican.

Edwards confirmed the concession call in remarks to supporters Tuesday night.

"I received a call from Congressman Cawthorn just a few minutes ago. Just as I expected, he presented himself in a very classy and humble way and offered his support to our campaign in absolutely anyway that we can use him."

In North Carolina's Senate race, Rep. Ted Budd will win the GOP nomination to replace retiring North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, CNN projected Tuesday.

Trump endorsed Budd nearly a year ago, but his candidacy was slow to take off and he struggled to break away from former Gov. Pat McCrory and Rep. Mark Walker in the primary. Heavy spending from the Club for Growth's political action committee ultimately boosted the conservative congressman, who backed voting to toss out the electoral results in Arizona and Pennsylvania in January 2021.

Democrat Cheri Beasley, who was the first Black woman to lead the North Carolina Supreme Court as chief justice, will be the party's Senate nominee in the state, CNN projected Tuesday. Her main rivals had dropped out of the primary before Tuesday.

A test for Biden too

Farther west, Democrats are closely watching a House primary in Oregon's newly drawn 5th Congressional District, where Rep. Kurt Schrader is fending off a challenge from his left from Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who has received a relatively modest boost from progressive outside groups, led by the Working Families Party.

Schrader, who was President Joe Biden's first congressional endorsement of 2022, has angered some of his fellow Democrats by voting against the American Rescue Plan, Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid relief package, and a measure in the President's Build Back Better package to allow the government to negotiate the price of pharmaceutical drugs, which would dramatically lower prices.

Schrader pushed an alternative provision and ultimately voted for the full bill, but not before joining a group of nine moderates in an effort to decouple it from the bipartisan infrastructure bill -- a tactical step that ultimately helped doom Build Back Better, Biden's would-be signature legislation -- in the Senate.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story mischaracterized the potential historic significance of Barnette winning the Pennsylvania Senate seat. She would become the first Black Republican woman elected to the Senate.

PA GOP primary won by Mehmet Oz as opponent David McCormick ...

WASHINGTON – Doctor and television host Mehmet Oz claimed the Republican nomination for a U.S. Senate seat on Friday after Pennsylvania Republican primary opponent David McCormick conceded that he cannot win a recount.

"This evening I received a gracious phone call from David McCormick and am tremendously grateful for his pledge of support in the fall election," Oz said in a victory statement.

McCormick, who trailed Oz by less than 1,000 votes after the May 17 Republican primary in Pennsylvania, told supporters at an event in Pittsburgh that the nearly-completed recount showed that the numbers simply weren't there to catch up.

“It’s now clear to me – with the recount now largely complete – that we have a nominee" in Oz, McCormick said. "Tonight is really about all us coming together.”

Jan. 6 committee hearing on Thursday:Jan. 6 committee's long-awaited hearings promise revelations. Will a divided US want to hear them?

McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, said he told Oz he would "do my part" to unite Republicans and Pennsylvania residents behind the doctor's candidacy to the U.S. Senate. "He has my full support," McCormick said.

Oz, who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trumpn during the primary, said he appreciated McCormick's concession and that "we share the goal of a brighter future for Pennsylvania and America."

Pennsylvania officials authorized a recount because state law requires one when two candidates finish within 0.5% of each other.

Recount:Pa. GOP Senate primary: Why Oz and McCormick race may not be decided before June

The celebrity factor:Celebrities? Outsiders? Oz, Fetterman (and Trump) put fame to the test in Pennsylvania primary

Oz, who left his long-running television show to pursue a U.S. Senate seat, now faces Democratic nominee John Fetterman, currently the lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania in the fall general election.

"We will make sure that this U.S. Senate seat does not fall into the hands of the radical left, led by John Fetterman," Oz said.

The Pennsylvania Senate race could decide whether Democrats or Republicans control the U.S. Senate, currently split 50-50 between the parties. The Democrats now have majority power because of the tie-breaking vote from Vice President Kamala Harris.

Fetterman and other Democrats have described Oz as a celebrity carpetbagger who moved to Pennsylvania to try and buy a U.S. Senate seat. They also cited Oz's opposition to abortion rights and his support for Trump's false claims about election fraud in 2020.

After McCormick's concession, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said in a statement that “Mehmet Oz is a fraud and a scam artist who will do, say, and sell anything to help himself – no matter who gets hurt."

Fetterman, 52, is still recovering from a stroke he suffered the weekend before the primary.

In a statement earlier in the day, Fetterman said the stroke was more serious than the campaign initially announced. His cardiologist said Fetterman has suffered from both atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy in recent years.

“The stroke I suffered on May 13 didn’t come out of nowhere,” Fetterman said in his statement. “Like so many others, and so many men in particular, I avoided going to the doctor, even though I knew I didn’t feel well. As a result, I almost died.”

He added: “I didn’t do what the doctor told me. But I won’t make that mistake again.”

Oz and Fetterman are vying for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.

During the hard-fought Republican primary, McCormick also sought Trump's endorsement. His wife, Dina Powell, worked for the Trump administration as a deputy national security adviser, and other former Trump aides supported McCormick's Senate candidacy.

During the primary campaign, McCormick and other Republicans attacked Oz for his lack of political experience and his dual citizenship with both Turkey and the United States.

Still, Oz managed to prevail.

In his victory statement, the celebrity doctor said that "I look forward to campaigning in every corner of the Commonwealth for the next five months to earn the support of every Pennsylvanian."

Pennsylvania primary, Madison Cawthorn race in N.C. on tap Tuesday

Big primary day features key contests in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Oregon.

“Dr. Oz” and embattled GOP congressman Madison Cawthorn face tough races.

WASHINGTON – The busiest primary day of the year so far arrives Tuesday – with the most volatile cast of characters.

There's the celebrity doctor facing a conservative commentator and a former hedge fund manager in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Democrat who is favored to win a Senate nomination but is recovering from a stroke. A North Carolina congressman trying to survive a knockout bid from fellow Republicans. An Idaho governor battling his lieutenant governor. And Donald Trump.

Kathy Barnette's quick rise has Republicans reeling over potential ...

Kathy Barnette, US Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania, listens to questions during an interview following the Pennsylvania Senate GOP primary debate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on April 25, 2022.

CNN —

Republicans are watching conservative candidate Kathy Barnette’s sudden rise in their party’s upcoming Pennsylvania US Senate primary with a mix of unease, wonder and dread.

Barnette’s late surge in the closely watched contest has turned what was broadly seen as a two-person race between celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund manager Dave McCormick into a chaotic three-person affair, with Barnette seen as a wild card who has grassroots momentum mere days before the Tuesday contest.

The unexpected development has caused even the most influential Republicans to panic, including former President Donald Trump himself, who attempted to quash Barnette’s campaign by claiming in a statement Thursday that she is not a viable general election candidate.

“Kathy Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump said.

Though Trump acknowledged that Barnette, who he described as “not properly explained or vetted,” is poised to “have a wonderful future in the Republican Party,” he reaffirmed his support for Oz and encouraged GOP primary voters to stick with his chosen candidate.

“A vote for anyone else in the Primary is a vote against Victory in the Fall!” he said.

At a campaign stop Thursday evening, Barnette brushed aside the blistering assessment and smiled when asked about the pointed words from Trump, telling reporters: “I look forward to working with the President.”

Asked if the whirling criticism is a sign that she’s on the rise, Barnette said, “I would agree.”

But like the former President, other Republicans are worried about the myriad unknowns surrounding Barnette, who until this week was barely a household name in Pennsylvania, let alone a Republican candidate garnering national attention.

“She is a giant walking question mark,” said one Republican operative working on Senate races. “There has been almost no vetting of her. … There is a lot that we don’t know about her, including basic biographical details.”

Oz told Fox host Sean Hannity on Wednesday that Barnette was a “mystery person.”

“I don’t see any way, any scenario under which she can win a general election,” he told Hannity, who was among those pushing Trump behind the scenes to endorse Oz earlier this spring.

One person close to Trump said the former President saw the Oz-Hannity interview as “too heavy-handed” and thought Oz’s attacks on Barnette would only make her stock rise further.

‘There is certainly fear from some Republicans’

The source of Barnette’s rise, though, is not a mystery: The persistent campaigner has outflanked Oz and McCormick from the right, using Trump’s now-unpopular decision to back the television doctor to rally Pennsylvania’s conservative base to her side and benefiting from an alliance with leading Republican gubernatorial hopeful Doug Mastriano. Barnette has effectively stepped into the void created by that grassroots anger and the singular focus that Oz and McCormick have had on each other for weeks.

What worries Republicans now is just how much of Barnette’s personal and professional background remains a mystery and the limited window in which voters might be informed of any liabilities she would have as a candidate on the ballot this November.

“There is certainly fear from some Republicans. The surge happened quickly and sort of out of nowhere,” said a Republican aide focused on Senate races. “She is relatively unknown and unvetted.”

While Barnette’s campaign website describes her as a “veteran, former adjunct professor of corporate finance, sought-after conference speaker, and conservative political commentator,” little is known about almost all aspects of her professional life.

The most in-depth look at Barnette’s personal life came in the form of a two-minute campaign ad released in the wake of the leaked draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, in which Barnette revealed that she was “the byproduct of rape” after her mother was molested and became pregnant at age 11.

Republicans in Washington have also been passing around a Washington Examiner piece titled “Who is Kathy Barnette,” which reports that a series of questions posed to Barnette’s campaign manager about the candidate’s background – including about her military service – went unanswered.

Still, not all Republicans are publicly concerned about Barnette’s rise.

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told CNN he had no concerns about her emergence in the race – and he downplayed the idea she would be more vulnerable in a general election matchup. He said he has spoken with her as well.

“Everybody’s going to attack everybody. But ultimately, the voters are going to choose,” said Scott, who is neutral in the race.

And Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, the only US senator who’s endorsed Barnette, told CNN that the candidate is “extraordinary” and dismissed the attack that Barnette has not been properly vetted.

“Look around the Senate,” Ernst said in the halls of the chamber. “I see a lot of people that I think should have been vetted. But no, I just, I think she is extraordinary.”

“Just because you’re a political newcomer doesn’t mean we write you off,” Ernst added. “I think she’s got a great story. It’s convincing.”

Barnette’s connections to Pennsylvania are also largely unknown, and both her book and campaign website are sparse on basic biographical information about the would-be senator. While Barnette ran unopposed in a Republican congressional primary in 2020 only to lose to Democrat Madeleine Dean by 19 percentage points for a congressional seat in the Philadelphia suburbs, the listing for her 2020 book, “Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain: Being Black and Conservative in America,” said she lived in Virginia.

The book features heavily in Barnette’s stump speech. The candidate writes that she “grew up on a very small farm in southern Alabama in a one stop-sign town.” The house, she writes, had no running water and had an outhouse. In another passage she writes that “for the majority of blacks in Nichburg, Alabama, and surrounding areas, the goal of each day was sheer survival.” Those who support Barnette and have heard her speak often cite her personal story – rural upbringing, college, military service and work as a commentator – as the reason they are backing her.

“I was very impressed with her life story,” said Donna DePue, the vice president of the Wyoming County Council of Republican Women, a group that hosted a luncheon for Barnette. “She was never taught to believe she was lesser than. She came across as the real deal. She is not a disgusting RINO and I liked her sincerity.”

“I keep telling folks that President Trump is not nearly as politically right as parts of this populist movement – Kathy Barnette is a manifestation of that. It’s MAGA vs. ultra MAGA in Pennsylvania,” said former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was due to host Barnette on his “War Room” podcast Thursday afternoon.

Barnette has also skillfully explained how she, a candidate running in line with Trump and his values, did not get the former President’s endorsement, saying at a recent debate that “MAGA does not belong to President Trump” because “our values never, never shifted to President Trump’s values” and it was “President Trump who shifted and aligned with our values.”

The explanation worked for many Republican activists, who see Oz as the antithesis of the MAGA movement.

In response, Oz’s and McCormick’s campaigns and associated super PACs have quickly worked to stop Barnette’s surge. American Leadership PAC, a super PAC backing Oz, posted a video on Wednesday calling Barnette “crazy” and “Pennsylvania’s wackiest candidate” and linking her, a Black Republican, with efforts to defund the police.

“Her surge is tied to her relationship to state Sen. Doug Mastriano. His supporters are supporting her. … Mastriano supporters will follow him off a cliff,” said a Republican operative in Pennsylvania. “[I] have a feeling most will stay with her even through the attacks.”

Mastriano’s rise has set off panic in Republican circles. State Sen. Jake Corman withdrew from the gubernatorial race on Thursday and endorsed former US Rep. Lou Barletta. Mastriano is one of the commonwealth’s most outspoken proponents of the falsehood that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

Republicans watching the response to Barnette’s rise, however, believe it may be too late for either operation to slow her rise. And the current response may be the extent of the effort to stop her, given the primary is just days away.

A source close to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the group had “no plans to get involved in this primary.” The super PAC’s central goal is electing a Republican majority to the Senate, which at times has meant getting involved in primaries to push the candidate it sees as the most electable – an open question about Barnette. But the timing of her rise has effectively hamstrung the group and others.

For Republicans, the prospect of Barnette winning on Tuesday now turns their focus to a general election with the largely unknown candidate helming one of their most high-profile Senate campaigns. Republicans are buoyant about their chances of taking back the evenly divided Senate in November, powered by President Joe Biden’s slumping poll numbers and a favorable environment for the Republican Party.

But 2022 would not be the first time an unexpected Republican candidate doomed those chances. Top Republicans are eagerly looking to avoid turning winnable races into clear losses like they did in 2010 and 2012, when far-right, unvetted candidates won primaries but struggled in general elections.

A range of Republican operatives told CNN on Thursday that while Barnette could make their work harder in Pennsylvania, she will have a chance in what will likely be a good year for Republicans.

“It’s absolutely wild, but it still seems early to say she would be a surefire loser in a general,” one of the operatives concluded. “She could explode on the tarmac two weeks after the primary is over. Or she could win.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

Pennsylvania primary 2022: Oz, Fetterman, Trump test their fame

Trump-endorsed Dr. Oz is in the midst of a tight GOP primary, with opponents using fame against him.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has nearly a 40-point lead on U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb in the latest poll.

In some cases, voters see celebrities as more credible than politicians, one analyst said.

Fetterman has 200,000 individual donors, the most by far in the U.S. Senate race in Pa.

WASHINGTON – When Donald Trump talks about why Dr. Mehmet Oz should be a U.S. senator, he cites Oz's medical background, his conservative views – and, above all, something else.

His celebrity.

"His show is great," Trump told supporters May 6 at a rally in Pennsylvania, site of a primary Tuesday that showcases a powerful development of 20th and 21st century public life: celebrity politics.

Who is Dr. Oz? Ex-TV host is running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania

The celebrity heart surgeon is best known for his TV program "The Dr. Oz Show."

Trump endorsed Oz in April.

Oz is the race's frontrunner, but not by a wide margin.

In the Pennsylvania Senate race, Donald Trump’s clout proved to be just enough to propel celebrity surgeon and TV host Mehmet Oz, better known as Dr. Oz, to a tight GOP primary victory over former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick in a race that took more than two weeks to call.

Oz’s victory marks the third Senate primary this cycle in which Trump’s endorsement lifted a candidate with no prior experience holding public office to the GOP nomination.

Last month, conservative commentator J.D. Vancebeat a crowded Republican field in Ohio with the former president’s support, and former National Football League running back Herschel Walker secured his place as the Republican challenger to Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in November’s general election.

On Politics newsletter:Keep up with the latest breaking politics news

Roe's midterms impact:The Roe v. Wade decision could upend the midterms. Here's where it might matter most

2022 midterm elections:The most interesting Senate races to watch, from Georgia, to Pennsylvania and Florida

Ohio GOP Senate nominee:Who is J.D. Vance?

Who is Dr. Oz?

Oz is best known for his nationally syndicated television program the Dr. Oz Show, which came to an end with his Senate run. Oz’s ascent to fame began with frequent appearances on the Oprah Winfrey show, where he appeared as a health expert, before finally getting his own show in 2009.

He had worked as a heart surgeon at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, according to his biography on the Dr. Oz Show website.

In the medical community, Oz’s promotion of alternative medicines has made him a controversial figure. Some doctors have gone as far as to publicly call for Columbia University, where Oz taught, to cut its ties with the now Senate candidate, Vox reported.

The university removed Oz’s profile from its website, the Daily Beast and others reported, following his Senate race entrance.

Oz earned his doctor of medicine from the University of Pennsylvaniain 1986. He also has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Oz's parents immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey. His father, Mustafa, had also been a surgeon.

Oz victory:Mehmet Oz is the GOP nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, as David McCormick concedes

How old is Dr. Oz?

Oz was born on June 11, 1960 in Cleveland, Ohio. He is 61 years old.

What is Dr. Oz’s policy platform?

Oz’s campaign website lists more than a dozen issue areas. In his first campaign ad, Oz appealed to his medical background and addressed the COVID-19 pandemic.

“They took away our freedom,” Oz said in the ad. “Without making us safer.”

His campaign site notes Oz’s opposition to business shutdowns and support for keeping children in schools. He also told Fox News he was opposed to vaccine mandates.

Another focus of the Oz campaign is “energy independence,” which was one of many issues highlighted in Trump’s endorsement statement. His campaign site says Oz supports slashing regulations on the fossil fuel industry to increase domestic energy production.

The rest of Oz’s platform runs the gamut on the GOP's defining issues during Joe Biden's presidency.

“Election security,” “cancel culture,” and “get tough on China,” are all focuses of the campaign along with more classic Republican positions on gun rights, the economy, immigration and abortions.

On Twitter, Oz weighed in on the leaked majority opinion draft written by Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito, agreeing with Alito’s rebuke of Roe v. Wade.

Who is endorsing Dr. Oz?

Aside from Trump, Oz is backed by former Republican Texas governor Rick Perry and Fox News’ Sean Hannity. J.D. Vance, the Ohio GOP Senate nominee, and former Republican presidential candidate and Housing and Urban Development ecretary Ben Carson also support Oz.

Who is Dr. Oz’s daughter?

One of Oz’s children is his daughter Daphne Oz, a chef and TV personality, who hosts a cooking show that replaced her father’s show. In 1985, Oz married his wife Lisa, with whom he has four children.

Who is Dave McCormick?:Former hedge fund executive running for Senate in Pennsylvania

Who is Kathy Barnette?:The GOP candidate surging late in Pennsylvania Senate race

Fetterman's cardiologist says Democrat, who had stroke, suffers from ...

(CNN) John Fetterman's cardiologist said Friday that the Democratic Senate candidate suffers from both atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy, issuing a statement that provides more insight into what caused the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor's stroke in May.

Dr. Ramesh Chandra said he first saw Fetterman in 2017, when he reported having swollen feet. He said he diagnosed him with "atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm, along with a decreased heart pump." Although he advised him to follow up in the coming months, the doctor said Fetterman did not and "did not go to any doctor for 5 years and did not continue to take his medications."

Chandra said Fetterman is "well compensated and stable" after receiving a defibrillator that he said "is working perfectly." The doctor added that it was the cardiomyopathy, a condition that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body, that was the reason the device needed to be implanted.

"The prognosis I can give for John's heart is this: If he takes his medications, eats healthy and exercises, he'll be fine," Chandra wrote. "If he does what I've told him, and I do believe that he is taking his recovery and his health very seriously this time, he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem."

The letter comes weeks after Fetterman checked himself into a hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on May 13 as he was on his way to a campaign event. He was found to have suffered a stroke and doctors used a thrombectomy, a procedure where doctors enter the body through the groin and wind catheters up to the clot, to address it. Fetterman won the Democratic Senate primary on May 17 while in the hospital and underwent a nearly three-hour surgery that same day to implant the defibrillator. He was released from the hospital on May 22 after a nine-day stay.

Fetterman's race will be one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country, with control of the evenly divided Senate hanging in the balance. The Democrat will face the winner of the GOP primary; the race between celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick has gone to a recount.

Despite multiple statements during and after his time in the hospital, Fetterman did not disclose previously that he had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation diagnosed in 2017. And while the letter from Chandra provides insight into what led to Fetterman's stroke, the doctors that performed the procedure on the candidate in Lancaster last month have yet to speak publicly.

Fetterman, in a statement released Friday in conjunction with Chandra's letter, acknowledged that he "should have taken my health more seriously."

"The stroke I suffered on May 13 didn't come out of nowhere. Like so many others, and so many men in particular, I avoided going to the doctor, even though I knew I didn't feel well. As a result, I almost died," he said. "I want to encourage others to not make the same mistake."

Fetterman said he "didn't follow up" because he thought "losing weight and exercising would be enough" to address his heart issues. He admits he was wrong, saying that the stroke he suffered was "completely preventable" and that his doctors have told him that if he had "continued taking the blood thinners, I never would have had a stroke."

"It's not something I'm proud of, but it is something I hope that others can learn from," he said. "So please: listen to your body, and be aware of the signs. Because ignoring them -- and avoiding the doctor because you might not like what they have to tell you -- could cost you your life."

Fetterman said that his doctors have instructed him "to rest, eat healthy, exercise, and focus on my recovery" and, because of that, it will "take some more time to get back on the campaign trail like I was in the lead-up to the primary."

"It's frustrating -- all the more so because this is my own fault -- but bear with me, I need a little more time. I'm not quite back to 100% yet, but I'm getting closer every day," he said. "This race is so important for Pennsylvania and for the country. I'm going to be ready for it, and I can't wait to get back on the trail."

Previous statements

Fetterman had previously said that the stroke was "caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long" and that his doctors were "able to quickly and completely remove the clot, reversing the stroke, they got my heart under control as well." Fetterman also said his doctors had told him he didn't suffer "any cognitive damage" and that he is "well on my way to a full recovery."

After that statement, Fetterman's campaign announced he had undergone the "standard procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator" and his wife, Gisele, told CNN on May 18 that the new implant would "make sure it's the strongest heart possible" after it was "weakened" by his irregular rhythm.

Fetterman was the favorite to win Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate nomination months before he suffered the stroke. And the stint in the hospital didn't dim those chances: Fetterman, from his hospital bed, easily defeated US Rep. Conor Lamb in the commonwealth's Democratic Senate primary.

Days after the primary, Fetterman announced he was leaving the hospital and "feeling great," but would "continue to rest and recover" so that he could "go full speed soon" and win in November.

The lieutenant governor has not held a public event since May 12.

Criticism about lack of transparency

Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a CNN medical analyst and interventional cardiologist who has treated several high-profile politicians, said there were several anomalies with Fetterman's hospital stay, including its length. He delivered a blistering critique of the letter released Friday by the Fetterman campaign as a "horrible note."

"First of all, it's not from the doctors who treated him during his stroke. It's from a doctor that he saw in 2017," said Reiner, who has called on Fetterman to be more transparent about his condition and recovery.

"The note doesn't say why the patient had a defibrillator implanted during that admission, doesn't mention his ejection fraction or residual neurologic deficits, doesn't describe a timetable for returning to the campaign trail," Reiner said. "Horrible note. Totally insufficient. The campaign should make available the docs who treated him during the stroke. Why are they hiding them?"

Reiner and other experts on cardiology and vascular neurology previously had told CNN that the time and scope of Fetterman's recent stay in the hospital for his recent stroke spoke to a more complicated health prognosis than one acknowledged by the Democratic Senate nominee, a belief confirmed by Chandra's letter and the revelation of cardiomyopathy and the earlier diagnosis.

Reiner and the other doctors said although the procedure Fetterman underwent is common in the United States, the uses of a thrombectomy to combat the stroke and the implantation of a defibrillator spoke to a more complicated health profile.

The use of a defibrillator, Reiner said, spoke "to something decidedly more ominous in terms of his status" because it could mean there is a cardiac structural issue that needed to be addressed before he could go home. In a less worrying moment, Reiner said, a doctor may use less drastic measures to address a heart issue before jumping to a defibrillator.

Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association, said that while life with a defibrillator is "very manageable" and Fetterman's prognosis should be good with it, "a pacemaker and defibrillator is not standard treatment for atrial fibrillation."

Lloyd-Jones, who, like Reiner, has not treated Fetterman, added that "people with atrial fibrillation do not routinely require a pacemaker unless there's something also potentially happening with the conduction system -- the electrical connections of the heart -- separate from the atrial fibrillation."

Political repercussions

Fetterman's health scare -- coupled with the recount on the Republican side -- has effectively frozen the Senate race in time.

Fetterman and his team had not offered details about the lieutenant governor's prognosis until Friday. The remarkably limited information from the campaign raised alarms among top Democrats in Pennsylvania and in Washington, officials said, and has prompted party lawyers to study the steps it would take to replace Fetterman on the ballot should that ultimately be necessary. State law sets an August timeline for doing so.

"Everyone hopes that isn't necessary and he remains on the ballot, but the stakes are too high not to prepare for every scenario," a senior party official told CNN, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the delicate nature of Fetterman's recovery.

There are also concerns about how Republicans may use Fetterman's health in a general election. While both Oz and McCormick have wished Fetterman well as he recovers from the stroke, some Democrats are worried that the broader universe of Republican groups and super PACs could attempt to use Fetterman's health scare against him.

Reiner and other doctors told CNN that they believed Fetterman could make a full recovery from the stroke but added that any suggestion that the stroke was small would be incorrect, especially because doctors in Lancaster opted to use thrombectomy to remove the clot.

Dr. Shazam Hussain, director of the Cerebrovascular Center at the Cleveland Clinic, said a thrombectomy is mostly used to address "bigger clots that can cause really bad stroke."

Lloyd-Jones echoed that suggestion, telling CNN that the use of a thrombectomy suggested the stroke stemmed from a "larger blood clot" in "a larger artery that is blocked" because the catheters used in the procedure cannot get into smaller areas.

And Dr. Michelle Johansen, an assistant professor of neurology and attending physician in the cerebrovascular division at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, said that "patients who are eligible for thrombectomy normally are in the process of having a bigger stroke."