Dr. Mehmet Oz, a surgeon and TV personality who became famous 20 years ago after being deemed “America’s doctor” by Oprah Winfrey, is looking into joining Pennsylvania politics, according to reports.
People magazine quotes a spokesperson from “The Dr. Oz Show” (which focuses on health and wellness) as saying Oz “has no announcement at this time” about running for office but has been living and voting in Pennsylvania since last year.
The Ohio native would be joining the race to replace U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican who isn’t running for re-election next year. Those already in that midterm race include Democrats Pa. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Rep. Conor Lamb, Dr. Val Arkoosh, the Montgomery County commissioners chair, and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta; and Republicans Carla Sands, a former ambassador to Denmark, Army veteran Sean Parnell and real estate investor Jeff Bartos.
TMZ quoted the Oz show spokesperson as saying that “Dr. Oz has received encouragement to run for the U.S. Senate, but is currently focused on our show.”
The Washington Free Beacon says that Oz doesn’t own property in the state: “Oz’s principal connection to Pennsylvania appears to be his graduate education at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned both medical and business degrees in the 1980s.
“He owns a mansion — and is registered to vote — in neighboring New Jersey and bought a vacation home in Palm Beach, Fla., in 2015, according to public records. He does not own property in Pennsylvania, at least under his own name.”
However, the Beacon adds, Oz is registered to vote as a non-permanent Pa. resident in Montgomery County, an address that appears to belong to his mother-in-law.