Trump encourages Oz to declare victory in too-close-to-call Pennsylvania Senate race
By Gabby Orr, CNN
Former President Donald Trump, in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning, encouraged Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz to “declare victory” in the Republican primary despite being deadlocked in a two-way contest with former hedge fund manager David McCormick.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory,” the former President wrote of his endorsed candidate, instructing him to take a page from Trump’s own playbook in 2020, when he declared “Frankly, we did win this election” while votes were still being counted.
In his post Wednesday, Trump went on to make baseless claims about cheating without providing any evidence to support his contention.
The race between Oz and McCormick is likely heading to a recount under Pennsylvania law, which requires a review of the results when the vote margin falls below 0.5 percent. As of Wednesday afternoon, CNN had not projected a winner in the too-close-to-call primary.
At his election night event, Oz told supporters, “When all the votes are counted, we will win.”
But Trump nevertheless touted his endorsement of Oz and Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano in several comments Wednesday morning, claiming it was “a big night for Trump Endorsed candidates.”
The former President has not yet mentioned North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn‘s loss Tuesday to state Sen. Chuck Edwards in the GOP primary for the 11th Congressional District amid a string of scandals that have plagued the freshman lawmaker in recent weeks.
Trump blamed the Club for Growth, which made a last-minute investment on behalf of conservative commentator Kathy Barnette in the Pennsylvania Senate race, for siphoning off votes from Oz in the primary.
“Remember, all three candidates in Pennsylvania were ‘Ultra’ MAGA!” Trump said Wednesday, presumably referring to the Senate primary between Oz, McCormick and Barnette.
Trump’s comments came as votes were still being counted Wednesday morning, including in Lancaster County, where a ballot print error has forced thousands of mail-in ballots to be fixed and reprocessed.
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