What does David McCormick’s withdrawal from US Senate bid mean

David McCormick ended his campaign for a US Senate seat from Pennsylvania and conceded to celebrity surgeon Dr Mehmet Oz. The two candidates were deadlocked for the Republican nomination after the Pennsylvania primaries last month.

Dr Oz had a lead of 972 votes on McCormick, who wanted to trigger an election recount that included undated ballots. McCormick flipped on Friday evening.

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“It is now clear to me with the recount now largely complete that we have a nominee”, the former hedge fund CEO announced from a hotel in Pittsburgh.

McCormick’s withdrawal from the electoral fight means that Dr Oz will be the Republican party candidate for the US Senate seat, which is being vacated by Pat Toomey. This sets up a general election battle between GOP’s Oz and Democrat John Fetterman.

Dr Oz’s win in the Pennsylvania elections also signals that former US President Donald Trump’s clout is still alive in the country’s political system. Trump’s endorsement, combined with Dr Oz’s celebrity status, was the perfect recipe to win the crucial legislative seat.

McCormick’s decision to concede to Dr Oz has also deflected a direct intervention from the US Supreme Court. The consideration of undated ballots has been a sore point in the recent US elections. Dr Oz submitted an emergency application asking Justice Alito to halt a recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that allowed undated ballots to be counted.

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The result could help determine control of the closely divided chamber, and Democrats view it as perhaps their best opportunity to pick up a seat in the race. The November general elections could make or break the US Senate for the Democratic party.

Dr Oz and McCormick blanketed state airwaves with political ads for months, spending millions of their own money. Virtually unknown to voters four months ago, McCormick had to introduce himself to voters, and he mined Oz’s long record as a public figure for material in attack ads. He got help from a super PAC supporting him that spent $20 million.