The Mysteries of Pittsburgh: Oz Goes to War with “Dave”

Mehment Oz
Photo by Brian Ach/Getty Images forL'Oréal Paris
Tina Nguyen
April 20, 2022

How much does Donald Trump’s endorsement matter these days? Judging from the most recent poll out of the Pennsylvania G.O.P. Senate race, it’s certainly not negligible: after Mehmet Oz received Trump’s backing on April 9th, he vaulted several points above his rival David “Dave” McCormick, whom he now leads 22.7 to 19.7 percent, just outside the poll’s margin of error. It’s certainly a positive sign for Team Oz, but they’re not breathing easy just yet. McCormick had been the frontrunner for months and, according to recent financial disclosures, his campaign has way, way more money to burn ($27.1 million between self-financing, fundraising, and allied super PACs) than Team Oz ($16.7 million between the same types of groups) in these final weeks of the race. The primary is May 17th—less than one month away. If you’re a media buyer in Pennsylvania, you’ll have your work cut out for you.