Dr. Oz Says 'MAGA Movement Is Dying' While His Campaign Trails Democrat in Fundraising for Pa. Senate Race
Noel Vasquez/Getty Images Dr. Mehmet Oz
Hoping to inspire financial contributions, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz has shared a discouraging diagnosis with supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The "MAGA MOVEMENT IS DYING," the Oz campaign declared in a text message deployed Monday. "Liberals are winning the fundraising race, and the America First Pro-Trump movement feels defeated."
The message included an image of the former president, who endorsed Oz in April in a move that upset some supporters opposing the celebrity heart surgeon in the high-stakes race for Senate.
"Keep the MAGA movement alive," the Oz camp's text urged, according to a tweet by Senate campaign reporter Matt Holt. "Friend, be a fighter for Trump."
Oz narrowly won the Republican primary election for Senate in Pennsylvania, defeating former hedge fund CEO David McCormick by just 951 votes after a days-long recount.
He will face Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee, in November.
Oz reportedly has reason to be worried when it comes to fundraising.
Since late April, Fetterman has pulled in $9.9 million in campaign contributions, compared to $1.1 million for Dr. Oz, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. At the start of July, Fetterman had $5.5 million on hand compared to $1.1 million in Oz's campaign coffers, according to the paper.
Asked about why he's so far behind in raising money for his campaign, Oz explained the financial disadvantage he's facing to Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Monday.
"The Democrats have very cleverly taken all of these issues that have come up over the summer ― the Dodd decision, the concerns about guns ― and they've used these as excuses to raise money from the Democratic loyalists," Oz said. (His mention of the "Dodd decision" seemingly refers to the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade in June.)
"Interestingly, when Republicans get mad, we go out and mow the lawn," he continued. "Democrats, when they get mad, donate money to their party."
Fetterman has employed some creative campaign tactics since suffering a stroke days before the primary election, which kept him off the trail for a while.
Beachgoers in New Jersey — where Oz had been a longtime resident before moving into a Pennsylvania home owned by his in-laws ahead of the Senate race — recently saw a cheeky message from Fetterman about his opponent.
"HEY DR. OZ, WELCOME HOME TO NJ! ❤️ JOHN," read a banner, pulled by a plane, as it flew over the Jersey Shore earlier this month.
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Reality star Snooki — no stranger to New Jersey's famous beaches — also got in on the effort to paint Oz as a Pennsylvania outsider.
The Jersey Shore star, 34, also known as Nicole Polizzi, appeared in a video posted on John Fetterman's Twitter page last week.
"I heard that you moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to look for a new job," Polizzi said in a short video that Fetterman tweeted. "And personally, I don't know why anyone would wanna leave Jersey, 'cause it's like the best place ever and we're all hot messes."
