(The Hill) – A Democratic super PAC has launched a new ad showcasing Oprah Winfrey's endorsement of Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) in the state’s Senate race over Republican Mehmet Oz, who appeared often on her hit daytime show.
The ad, from the Senate Majority PAC, states that Winfrey knows Oz “better than anyone” but would not vote for him, citing comments that Winfrey made at a virtual town hall on Thursday."If I lived in Pennsylvania, I would have already cast my vote for John Fetterman," Oprah said at the event.
The super PAC's ad goes on to attack Oz, claiming he got "rich" from promoting “fake” medical cures, and citing remarks he reportedly made in May, when he called abortion "murder," per NBC News. “No wonder Oprah opposes Oz,” the ad states. “If she doesn’t trust Oz, why should you?” it concludes.
Oz often appeared on Winfrey’s talk show before starting his own program, “The Dr. Oz Show,” in 2009. Oz’s show — which has received criticism for promoting certain products that he claimed could cause a medical “miracle” — ended in January after he announced his bid for Senate. Fetterman has sought to highlight these criticisms on several occasions in the run-up to Election Day.
Fetterman led Oz throughout much of the race, casting him as an outsider hailing from New Jersey. But in recent weeks, Oz closed the gap and even overtook Fetterman for the lead in a poll from Emerson College and The Hill.
Fetterman has faced scrutiny over the lingering effects of the stroke he had days before winning the Democratic primary. He often struggled to form clear sentences during his debate with Oz last month, but most respondents in a poll after the debate said it would not impact their decision on who to vote for. FiveThirtyEight’s polling average has Fetterman leading Oz by less than half a percentage point as of Friday.
