McCormick’s Friday results ended with Oz by less than 1,000 votes out of more than 1.3 million votes cast in their May 17th Republican primary on May 17. The narrow margin triggered Pennsylvania’s automatic recalculation law, which takes effect when the margin between the first two finishers is 0.5 percentage points or less.
“We came very close,” McCormick told supporters, pointing to the “razor-thin” edge.
“With the recount over, it is now clear to us that we have a candidate. Today I called on Mohamed Oz to congratulate him on his victory. I told him, I always told you, I will do my part. McCormick said.
The recount began a week ago, and districts faced a deadline Wednesday to announce their results. Oz and McCormick’s attorneys fought district-wise over provisional ballots.
McCormick’s campaign fought in court that postal ballots should have no handwritten date on the envelope; Pennsylvania officials say there are about 850 ballots. A Pennsylvania judge was in favor of McCormick on Thursday, ordering districts to begin counting the votes, despite a Republican National Committee appealing the ruling Friday. The campaign of the RNC, state GOP and Oz argued that those votes should not be counted.
In a statement following the offer, Oz said he had received a “fantastic” invitation from McCormick and was “very grateful for his support in the fall election.”
“We share the vision for a brighter future for Pennsylvania and the United States,” Oz continued. “Now that our primary is over, we will make sure this US Senate seat does not fall into the hands of the far left, led by John Fetterman. I look forward to campaigning in every corner of the Commonwealth for the next five months. Get the support of every Pennsylvanian.”
Trump encouraged Oz to follow his own conspiracy tactics and declare victory. Oz reconsidered himself as a “speculative” Republican candidate.
As the votes were counted, the margin did not change in favor of McCormick. A source close to McCormick’s campaign said it was clear that McCormick’s campaign did not have the math and that McCormick would not get the votes needed to overtake Oz.
Oz was pushed into the final weeks of the wide-open primary with the approval of Trump, who was the biggest player in recent Senate primaries to replace the retiring Republican. The former president’s support elevated venture capitalist JD Vance to victory in Ohio and the US representative Ted Butt, who won easily in North Carolina.
The Pennsylvania race, like Ohio, exposed the fractures within the GOP, with Trump endorsing a candidate who was seen as more moderate than other rivals.
Kathy Barnett, a conservative commentator, fully embraced everything that stood in support of Trump and attracted supporters of the former president, who were not impressed by Oz, who came in third with about 25% of the vote. Barnett has benefited from spending through the Conservative Club for Growth, which clashed with Trump for the second time in weeks after spending millions to encourage former state treasurer Josh Mandel, who finished second in the Ohio Senate primary.
Oz thwarted his counter-attacks on abortion rights, which he once said he supported, now he says he opposes, and served in his Turkish citizenship and Turkish army.
McCormick, meanwhile, was the beneficiary of more than $ 16 million in advertising costs for Super PAC, the Honor Pennsylvania Super PAC, funded by Wall Street Statistics. His campaign and Oz’s campaign each spent more than $ 12 million on TV commercials.
Pennsylvania is now heading to the November election, which will be crucial in determining which party controls the Senate. Republican Senate accepts Trump’s lies about 2020 presidential election. Doug Mastriano, Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and Republican State Senator Doug Mastriano, who supported the state’s electoral process, run a crucial governor race in the Commonwealth – the winner wins. Power to appoint a Secretary of State to control the electoral machinery of Pennsylvania at the time of the 2024 presidential election.
The story was updated on Friday with more details.
Cristian Holmes of CNN contributed to this report.
“Friend of animals everywhere. Coffee maven. Professional food trailblazer. Twitter buff.”