Dr. Oz.Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Dr. Mehmet Ozofficially announced that he isrunning for SenateTuesday, penning an op-ed forThe Washington Examinerin which he wrote that he is launching his campaign “to help fix the problems and to help us heal.”
Writing that the coronavirus pandemic had ultimately led him to enter the Pennsylvania Senate race, Oz said many of the more-than 750,000 American COVID-19 deaths were “preventable.”
“Dissenting opinions from leading scholars were ridiculed and canceled so their ideas could not be disseminated,” Oz wrote. “Instead, the government mandated policies that caused unnecessary suffering. The public was patronized and misled instead of empowered. We were told to lock down quietly and let those in charge take care of the rest.”
He will enter the race as a Republican.
Outlets including theAssociated PressandThe Washington Postreported earlier that the celebrity heart surgeon maymake an announcementregarding his campaign on Fox News hostSean Hannity’s show Tuesday night.
A preview for the show noted that Oz, 61, would appear on Tuesday’s episode show and teased “a huge announcement.”
Citing anonymous sources, the AP reported that Oz has in recent days told associates and Republicans in Pennsylvania of his planned campaign.
Amid recent speculation that the cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality was planning to launch a run for office, a spokesperson forThe Dr. Oz Showearlier told PEOPLE: “Since last year, Dr. Oz has lived and voted in Pennsylvania where he attended school and has deep family ties.”
Though the spokesperson added Oz remained focused on his show and was not ready to make an announcement about a campaign, they added that he had “received encouragement to run.”
“Dr. Oz has received encouragement to run for the U.S. Senate, but is currently focused on our show and has no announcement at this time,” the spokesperson added.
It is unclear what impact a potential Senate run will have on theDr. Oz Show, which was renewed for a 13th and 14th season last year.
Oz and his crewreturned to the studioin September 2020 to film season 12 ofThe Dr. Oz Show,and filmed several months of the show last year from home, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Democratic candidates running for the seat include Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor,John Fetterman.
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Oz is originally from Cleveland. In 1986, he went to medical school at the University of Pennsylvania — where he also earned an MBA. He has been a professor at the Department of Surgery at Columbia University since 2001.
source: people.com
