Dr. Mehmet Oz turned his focus to November’s general election during a rally Monday where he spoke to vocal supporters in Pittsburgh’s South Hills about why they should choose him to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.

The “Victory in November” rally at Level 20 in Bethel Park attracted a few hundred people who packed into an upstairs room of the facility to hear from the celebrity heart surgeon who last week officially was named the Republican U.S. Senate candidate. He will face Democrat John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, in November.

Incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey isn’t seeking reelection.

“I started to notice things about Washington over the last couple years, and you have as well,” Oz said. “But it was those issues that catalyzed my desire to give up what I was doing and come and stand here in front of you and talk about things that matter to all of us.”

During the almost hourlong event, Oz touched on key points, often soliciting cheers from the crowd.

Oz, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Turkey, vowed to secure the country’s borders. He commented on inflation levels — which reached a 40-year high in May — and also on supply shortages of things such as baby formula.

He largely focused on bolstering Pennsylvania’s energy sector.

“We have assets … that could help the entire country. … We’re not only talking about preserving the livelihoods of communities here in Pennsylvania, but we have beneath our feet the tools to make the entire country prosper,” Oz said.

He suggested issues Americans are facing today are caused by a lack of confidence from leaders including President Biden.

“I think Joe Biden has lost confidence in the ingenuity of Americans,” Oz said. “And he’s lost confidence in the grit of Americans. And if you lose confidence in the ingenuity and grit of Americans, you’ve lost confidence in Americans. And if you’ve lost confidence in Americans, you don’t have confidence in America.”

Oz also turned his attention to Fetterman.

Since his win, Oz has taken to Twitter, where he called Fetterman a “radical liberal,” while stating he is “soft on crime” and “anti-American energy.”

“I’m in this campaign going against a Democratic nominee, John Fetterman, who has a very different philosophy than I have,” Oz said. “He’s further to the left than Joe Biden. He’s pulling Joe Biden to the left. He wants to spend trillions more when we already have inflation. … I say no more reckless spending.”

He also suggested Fetterman doesn’t see a future for Pennsylvania energy.

Oz for months has been holding rallies across Southwestern Pennsylvania to drum up enough support to clinch a spot in the general election. In May, former President Trump traveled to the Westmoreland Fairgrounds, where he spoke on several topics while quickly praising Oz, whom he previously endorsed.

Despite Trump’s endorsement, voter support for Oz remained rocky leading up to the primary. Prior to the election, Oz was hit by a bevy of attack ads accusing him of being a RINO (Republican in name only) and criticizing him for his past support for gun control and his connections to Hollywood.

People also questioned Oz’s residence after he spent decades living in New Jersey. Earlier this year, Oz said he and his wife now reside in suburban Philadelphia.

Still, Oz beat opponent David McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, in a narrow race that resulted in a days-long recount.

The recount ultimately determined Oz beat McCormick by 951 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast.

During Monday’s rally, several well-known local Republicans touted their support for Oz.

Sam DeMarco, chair of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, suggested voters need to get behind candidates such as Oz and Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor.

“I don’t care who you supported on May 16,” DeMarco said. “We all supported somebody. What I care about is who you support today. Every one of us needs to get behind our candidates. If you supported somebody else, you need to support Dr. Oz now. If you supported Dr. Oz all along, you need to be magnanimous into welcoming others into the tent, because we need everybody in this vote. We need everybody rolling in the same direction if we’re going to be successful.”

Similar to his January rally in Unity, people clustered around Oz after his speech, hoping to get a photo with the star of the “Dr. Oz Show,” which was on television for 12 years.

“If Washington has an all-in approach to Pennsylvania, then Washington will have an all-in approach to America and we’ll thrive as a nation,” Oz said.

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