David McCormick concedes Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary to Dr. Oz

Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate and hedge fund CEO David McCormick on Friday conceded the race to his Trump-backed opponent, reality star Dr. Mehmet Oz.

McCormick on Friday announced that he had called Oz to concede the race after it became clear he would lose the extremely tight race, per the Associated Press. The race is still going through an automatic recount.

Prior to the recount, Oz held a slim 972-vote lead in the race, roughly 0.07 percent of the total votes. The celebrity doctor struggled to triumph over his rivals even with the enthusiastic support of former President Donald Trump.

Oz faced criticism from the right over his Turkish citizenship and noncommittal stances on 2020 election fraud, while third-place candidate Kathy Barnette secured roughly one quarter of the vote, partially contributing to the close race between Oz and McCormick.

The final results of the race are not yet official but, barring any surprises, Oz will go on to face Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the November election to succeed one-term GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring.