2024 US Election

Democratic Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania conceded his reelection bid to Republican David McCormick on Thursday, as a statewide recount showed no signs of closing the gap, and his campaign suffered repeated blows in court in its effort to get potentially favorable ballots counted.

Casey's concession comes more than two weeks after Election Day, as a grindingly slow ballot-counting process became a spectacle of hourslong election board meetings, social media outrage, lawsuits and accusations that some county officials were openly flouting the law.

Republicans had been claiming that Democrats were trying to steal McCormick's seat by counting "illegal votes." Casey's campaign had accused Republicans of trying to block enough votes to prevent him from pulling ahead and winning.

In a statement, Casey said he had just called McCormick to congratulate him.

"As the first count of ballots is completed, Pennsylvanians can move forward with the knowledge that their voices were heard, whether their vote was the first to be counted or the last," Casey said.

The Associated Press called the race for McCormick on November 7, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead.

As of Thursday, McCormick led by about 16,000 votes out of almost 7 million ballots counted.

That was well within the 0.5% margin threshold to trigger an automatic statewide recount under Pennsylvania law.

But no election official expected a recount to change more than a couple hundred votes or so, and Pennsylvania's highest court dealt Casey a blow when it refused entreaties to allow counties to count mail-in ballots that lacked a correct handwritten date on the return envelope.

Republicans will have a 53-47 majority next year in the U.S. Senate.

Mehmet Oz, a renowned heart surgeon and television host best known for "The Dr. Oz Show," has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS.

If confirmed by the Senate, Oz will oversee two of the nation's most vital health insurance programs, which provide coverage for elderly and low-income Americans.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1960, Oz is the son of Turkish immigrants — Dr. Mustafa Oz, a thoracic cardiovascular surgeon, and Suna Oz.

Raised in Wilmington, Delaware, Oz graduated from Harvard University in 1982 with a degree in biology before earning joint medical and master of business administration degrees from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Penn's Wharton School in 1986.

Oz built his medical career as a prominent cardiac surgeon in New York City, where he developed innovative medical devices and authored bestselling health books that have been translated into many languages, including Turkish.

His rise to national fame began after he appeared as a regular guest on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." He launched "The Dr. Oz Show" in 2009, which ran for 13 seasons, dealing with topics on health and wellness, and won nine Emmy Awards.

Trump also noted Oz's multiple TV awards in a written statement after he nominated him for the CMS position, adding Oz "taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices."

Meeting Trump

In a statement in 2022 to The Associated Press, Oz said he first met Trump in 2004 or 2005, when he asked the future president for permission to use his golf course to organize an event for his children's charity.

Although the two later met at social events, the most well-known public moment was during the 2016 presidential campaign when Oz interviewed Trump on his television show, in which Trump revealed his medical records.

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In 2018 — during his first term as president — Trump appointed Oz to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

While praised for his ability to communicate complex medical issues, Oz faced criticism for promoting unproven health products and for alleged conflicts of interest in endorsing commercial products.

The controversy peaked in 2014, when he was called to testify before a Senate subcommittee about his promotion of weight loss products with questionable scientific backing.

While Oz has not been found to be involved in medical weight loss fraud, his remarks on his television program have been used in campaigns to market weight loss products and sell them online in many countries.

Political aspirations

Oz entered the political arena in late 2021 because of what he saw as a failure of the U.S. to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. He announced his candidacy for a U.S. Senate seat in the eastern state of Pennsylvania as a Republican.

Despite receiving Trump's endorsement, his campaign was scrutinized over his dual U.S.-Turkish citizenship. Opponents, including President Joe Biden, also criticized Oz for running for a Senate seat in Pennsylvania when his longtime home was in New Jersey.

Opponents have criticized Oz for showing a lack of loyalty to the U.S. after a photo of him voting in the 2018 Turkish presidential election was posted on the official Facebook account of the Turkish Consulate General in New York.

Oz also starred in Turkish Airlines' multimillion-dollar Super Bowl commercial in 2018. As a brand ambassador in 2021, he appeared in a 4-minute, in-flight briefing video, featuring the airline's COVID-19 safety protocols.

Oz has often said that he maintains dual U.S.-Turkish citizenship to care for his mother, who lives in Turkey and has Alzheimer's disease.

He served in the Turkish army in the early 1980s to retain his Turkish citizenship. Sixty days of training was mandatory for citizens who reside in foreign countries. Facing such criticism when he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2022, Oz said he would renounce his Turkish citizenship if elected. He lost the race to Democrat John Fetterman.

Despite retreating from the public eye after his Senate loss, Oz's nomination to lead the CMS marks a return to national prominence.

If confirmed, he will oversee a $1.1 trillion budget and programs that provide health care to nearly half of the U.S. population.

As the Senate considers his nomination, Oz faces the challenge of transitioning from media personality to federal administrator, taking on a pivotal role in shaping the future of American health care.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.