CNN —
Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz released a video on Friday in which the celebrity doctor calls himself the “presumptive Republican” nominee on the same day counties can begin recounting ballots in the commonwealth’s tight GOP primary.
Oz currently holds a roughly 900-vote lead over former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick in the contest for the Republican nomination. CNN has not made a projection in the race.
“I am blessed to have earned the presumptive Republican nomination for the United States Senate,” Oz says in the straight-to-camera video. “This was a tough campaign, I traveled everywhere. You guys were pretty honest sharing with me thoughts, worries you had, you don’t feel like you’re being heard.”
Oz goes on in the video to position himself more as a general election candidate, telling voters he is going to “reach to every corner of this commonwealth,” work with “anybody who’s got good ideas” and “bond together” to “solve all of our problems.”
Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Leigh Chapman announced on Wednesday that the margin between McCormick and Oz was within the 0.5% automatic recount threshold after all of Pennsylvania’s counties reported their unofficial results to the state on Tuesday.
McCormick, as the second-highest vote-getter, could have chosen to waive his right to a recount but decided not to.
Counties could begin the recount as early as Friday but must begin no later than June 1. Counties must finish counting by noon on June 7...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...