In the race for the seat being vacated by retiring Senator Pat Toomey (R), the latest compilation of primary polls by RealClearPolitics shows Dr. Mehmet Oz (R) currently leading the polls by two and a half points over second-place Dave McCormick (R). But a photo showing Dr. Oz, who is a dual citizen, voting in the 2018 Turkish election has surfaced. Though he reportedly did not vote for the current Turkish president, several photographs show him hobnobbing with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose government has been hostile to Christianity.
[Editor's note: AFN reported in January that an expert on Islamist activity in the U.S. had concerns about Oz's affiliation with the Turkish government.]
Some in attendance at a recent rally at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds in Greensburg, Pennsylvania booed when former President Donald Trump introduced Dr. Oz.
"I think the major concern is that he is a carpetbagger who dropped into Pennsylvania [and] went across the Delaware River from New Jersey into the Philadelphia area in order to run," suggests Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania. "He's an opportunist taking advantage of the fact that Sean Parnell (R) dropped out. He and Dave McCormick (R) and Carla Sands (R) -- all three of them are carpetbaggers dropping into the Pennsylvania after Sean Parnell dropped out."
And Gramley asserts that word about Dr. Oz's Turkish connection is "definitely going to get out."
"It has been somewhat of an issue, his dual citizenship," the conservative adds. "Of course he says if he's elected to the United States Senate, he will drop his Turkish citizenship, which I don't see happening."
Gramley believes her fellow conservatives in Pennsylvania will see through the façade and not buy Dr. Oz's attempts to paint himself as a supporter of the conservative agenda. But as American Family News has reported, he does have the support of many within the pro-life community.
At the rally, Trump called on voters to back Oz in the Republican Senate primary. The former president endorsed Oz on April 10, presenting a vote for him as a way to help "save America."
"I have known Dr. Oz for many years, as have many others, even if only through his very successful television show," Trump said in his endorsement. "He has lived with us through the screen and has always been popular, respected, and smart."
