(AP) Mehmet Oz’s rivals in Pennsylvania’s competitive Republican primary for U.S. Senate are escalating their attacks on the celebrity heart surgeon’s connections to his parents’ native country of Turkey, raising it as a possible national security issue.
Oz, best known as TV’s Dr. Oz, has rejected any suggestions he is a threat to national security and accused an opponent, ex-hedge fund CEO David McCormick, of making “bigoted attacks.” If elected, Oz would be the nation’s first Muslim senator, although Oz has not campaigned on that milestone.
The criticism of Oz and his ties to Turkey has mushroomed in the weeks after Oz won the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, who remains popular with conservative voters. With the state’s May 17 primary in sight, Trump held a rally with Oz in western Pennsylvania on Friday evening, coming off a big win in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary for Trump’s candidate, JD Vance.
