Dr. Oz announces bid for U.S. Senate as a Republican

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is a daytime TV show host and cardiothoracic surgeon, is running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania “to help cure our country’s ills,” according to a campaign statement Tuesday.

He cited the pandemic as his inspiration to run, saying COVID-19 “has shown us that our system is broken.”

“We lost too many lives, too many jobs, and too many opportunities because Washington got it wrong,” Oz said in a statement. “They took away our freedom without making us safer and tried to kill our spirit and our dignity.”

“Pennsylvania needs a conservative who will put America first, one who can reignite our divine spark, bravely fight for freedom, and tell it like it is,” he said.

“I’m running for the Senate to empower you to control your destiny, to reinvigorate our great nation, and to reignite the divine spark that we should always be seeing in each other,” Oz, who is running as a Republican candidate, said in a Washington Examiner column announcing the campaign.

The seat Oz is running for is being vacated by long-serving Sen. Pat Toomey. He is expected to elaborate on his reasons for running during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s FOX News show at 9 p.m. Tuesday.