(TheRedWire.com) – Holding dual citizenship doesn’t disqualify someone from serving in the US Senate, so long as voters approve of it. In 2021, Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) announced he was retiring from the Senate and wouldn’t run for re-election in 2022. The Keystone State is a presidential battleground that swings back and forth between Republicans and Democrats. Regardless of past swing elections, Republicans appear on the fastrack to victory in November as the country sours on President Joe Biden and the Democrats’ leadership.
Famed television celebrity Dr. Oz Mehmet and GOP frontrunner David McCormick want to replace Toomey this fall. Recently, McCormick has made Oz’s dual citizenship a serious campaign issue. At first, Oz ignored the chatter. Now, he’s confronting it head-on. If Dr. Oz wins the primary and defeats the Democratic candidate in November, he says he’ll renounce his Turkish citizenship.
EXCLUSIVE: @DrOz tells me he will renounce his Turkish citizenship if elected to the #Senate
"I’m committing that before I am sworn in as the next U.S. Senator for #Pennsylvania I will only be a U.S. citizen," #DrOz sayshttps://t.co/XxQ8oGqtfa— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) March 16, 2022
Both of Oz’s parents were born Turkish. The famed cardiologist also served in the Turkish military to maintain his citizenship as required by Turkish law. Oz says he keeps his citizenship overseas to allow him easy access to help his ailing mother, who lives in Istanbul and has Alzheimer’s.
There’s some evidence McCormick’s dual citizenship attacks are working with Pennsylvania voters. In a recent Fox News poll, PA GOP primary voters gave McCormick the front-runner status with a nine-point lead over Oz (24% to 15%).
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