Dr. Oz and Former Bridgewater CEO Fight Over Trump Voters for Pennsylvania Senate Seat

Former Bridgewater Associates CEO David McCormick and celebrity physician Mehmet Oz have already shattered spending records in their Republican primary battle for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania that is pivotal to party efforts to retake control of Congress.

McCormick and Oz have flooded Keystone State airwaves with television and radio ads at a clip typically reserved for the closing stretch of an election, especially courting supporters of former President Donald Trump whose votes could spell the difference in the May 17 primary.

The two campaigns and the Super PACs supporting them have spent more than $30 million on ads so far, and total spending for five of the GOP’s candidates and their Super PACs is almost $34 million, according to AdImpact data. That exceeds the $20.1 million record set in the 2010 Democratic race for a Pennsylvania U.S. Senate primary, according to a Bloomberg analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission and OpenSecrets, which studies campaign finance and lobbying data. 

Mehmet Oz during a campaign event in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.