WASHINGTON, D.C. — Television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Tuesday that he’s running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania as a Republican.
“I’m running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania because America needs a Conservative Republican to cure what’s wrong with Washington,” he tweeted. “I’m a world-class surgeon, fighter, and health care advocate stepping forward to cure our country’s ills.”
In his announcement video, Oz claimed, “our system is broken” and “Washington got it wrong” when it came to handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They took away our freedom without making us safer,” he claimed. “And they tried to kill our spirit and our dignity.”
Oz has become known nationally after serving as a regular guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and launching his own series, “The Dr. Oz Show,” in 2009. That show is still airing.
The 61-year-old cardiothoracic surgeon is running to fill the seat of Republican Sen. Pat Toomey, who announced last year that he would not seek a third term in the November 2022 election.
The celebrity doctor is joining a GOP primary field, which includes Philadelphia-area businessman Jeff Bartos and the former U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands.
Oz is originally from Ohio and has lived in New Jersey, but he did attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania after graduating from Harvard University.
