Oz’s senate campaign rolls through Washington
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks Wednesday night to a crowd at the American Legion Post 175 near Washington.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks Wednesday night to a crowd at the American Legion Post 175 near Washington while Congressman Guy Reschenthaler looks on.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz speaks Wednesday night to a crowd at the American Legion Post 175 near Washington.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz visited Washington and Fayette counties Wednesday as part of his “The Doctor Is In” tour across Western Pennsylvania this week.
During his final stop of the day at the American Legion Post 175 near Washington, Oz told a packed house that the values of Washington, D.C., do not reflect those of people living in this region.
“It reflects a deeper rot in Washington,” Oz told the crowd gathered in the post’s social hall. “Why does Washington keep getting it wrong?”
Oz, a heart surgeon and television show host who currently hails from Bryn Athyn in Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia, touched on a variety of issues and took questions from the audience as he tries to build Republican support for the upcoming primary election. Topics ranged from China to energy to homelessness to electric cars. But the most popular discussion was about COVID-19 and vaccine mandates.
Oz praised the vaccine and noted that he has been vaccinated from the coronavirus, but he also questioned why other treatments aren’t available to doctors after patients contract COVID-19. He pointed specifically to wanting more studies on the drug hydroxychloroquine that is more commonly used to treat lupus or malaria, and was briefly used on patients with COVID-19 before the Food and Drug Administration revoked its use in 2020.
“I really don’t know if it works or not,” Oz said, alluding to his belief that more studies on the drug’s effectiveness are needed.
But Oz was most vocal against vaccine mandates and said it should be up to individuals to choose whether or not to take the shot.
“I’m against mandates. Period. I’ve talked about the benefits of vaccines every time,” Oz said, reiterating that he’s vaccinated. “But why would you tell me you have to do it?”
He was joined by Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, who introduced the heart surgeon turned politician and said Oz allows Republicans to reach out to more voters.
“We have to get behind Dr. Oz, because Dr. Oz is the future of the party,” Reschenthaler said.
Oz also held a campaign event in Connellsville, and was spotted walking through downtown Uniontown with Reschenthaler, although it was not know if he held an event there as well.
Oz is one of nine candidates running for the Republican nomination this spring hoping to replace Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring at the end of the year.