'We came so close': McCormick concedes GOP race for U.S. Senate; Oz to face Fetterman

Former hedge fund CEO David McCormick on Friday dropped out of the close Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate against celebrity heart surgeon Mehmet Oz.

The concession means Oz will face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, in the fall.

“We came so close,” McCormick, 56, said at the Hotel Indigo in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. “I am so proud of what we have accomplished in this campaign. We came so close, a razor thin margin. But we have a nominee, Mehmet Oz.”

McCormick, of Pittsburgh, said he called Oz earlier on Friday to congratulate him. He added that Oz has his full support.

Oz had previously declared himself the winner, and in a tweet Friday, he said he was tremendously grateful for McCormick’s pledge of support in the fall election.

“Now that our primary is over, we will make sure that this U.S. Senate seat does not fall into the hands of the radical left, led by John Fetterman,” tweeted Oz.

After ballots were initially counted after the primary, Oz led McCormick by less than 1,000 votes. Oz had secured 31.2% of the vote before recounts began, while McCormick had 31.1% of the vote, unofficial tallies showed.

An automatic recount was triggered because the statewide race was within 0.5-percentage point. However, the process so far has not garnered McCormick many additional votes. The margin as of Friday was about 900 votes in favor of Oz.

Initially, the McCormick campaign hoped some undated mail-in ballots could cut into Oz’s lead. It asked the courts to allow for select ballots to be added to the tally. These undated mail-in ballots arrived on time and were timestamped, but lacked handwritten dates from voters.

Mail-in ballots had leaned in McCormick’s direction.

Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court sided with McCormick this week and asked counties to count the undated mail-in ballots, but set them aside until the U.S. Supreme Court issued a final decision on what to do with those ballots.

However, McCormick’s campaign said he is now dropping the court case.

The close primary race fractured Pennsylvania’s Republican base. McCormick garnered support from former Senate candidate Sean Parnell, and other establishment figures. Oz was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and has politicians like U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, back his campaign. This infighting led to a late surge from conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, who finished a not-so-distant third in the race.

Many Republican leaders not immediately aligned with Trump believed McCormick to be the superior candidate, and regularly put out statements and backed efforts criticizing Oz.

Trump endorsed Oz anyway, but that didn’t lead all of his followers to embrace Oz. At a rally at fairgrounds in Westmoreland County in May, some in the crowd repeatedly booed Oz when he was speaking or when other’s mentioned Oz. A recent poll, showed Oz has an “underwater” favorability rating among Pennsylvania Republicans, while McCormick has a positive favorability rating.

Regardless, Oz is now the presumptive nominee over McCormick.

Before running for the Senate, McCormick served as CEO of Bridgewater Associates from 2020 until January of this year. He grew up in the Pittsburgh area and went to high school in Bloomsburg in Central Pennsylvania. McCormick graduated from West Point and enlisted in the Army in 1987, serving for five years, including a tour in the first Gulf War.

Though born and raised in Pennsylvania, McCormick had lived in Connecticut for years. He bought a house in Pittsburgh in 2020. Both he and Oz, who lived in New Jersey for decades, have been accused of carpetbagging — moving to Pennsylvania solely to run for office here. Both Oz and McCormick announced campaigns shortly after former GOP front-runner Parnell dropped out amid allegations of domestic abuse.

During his concession speech, however, McCormick said he was going to stay in Pennsylvania, and wanted to work to help grow the state’s economy.

“This is my home. This is our home,” said McCormick. “This is where my dreams were launched, and this is where we plan to have a future.”