PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The GOP primary for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat remained too close to call as election night turned to Wednesday morning, with vote totals for Dave McCormick and Mehmet Oz within fractions of a percentage point with uncounted mail ballots still looming.
Both spoke to supporters late Tuesday saying there would be no result tonight.
McCormick and Oz battled each other in a war of television ads that saturated the state.
McCormick, a wealthy former hedge fund CEO, attacked Oz for his past support for liberal causes.
Oz, the celebrity doctor who won former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, pegged McCormick as a globalist out of touch with the populist wing of the Republican party.
Conservative commentator Kathy Barnette surged to be among the frontrunners in recent weeks despite little campaign spending. She attacked both McCormick and Oz as carpetbaggers who would tack to the center in the general election.
In a race with national implications, Republicans hope to hold the seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey as they seek to flip control of the chamber.
The winner of the GOP primary will face Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the fall.
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McCormick, who lived in Connecticut as CEO of Bridgewater Associates, bought a home in Pittsburgh and played up his roots as a Central Pa. high school wrestler and hunter. His father ran Bloomsburg University before becoming the first chancellor of the Pa. System of Higher Education.
Oz lived in New Jersey before claiming residency in Montgomery County.
Also on the GOP ballot Tuesday were Berks County businessman Jeff Bartos, businesswoman Carla Sands, lawyers George Bochetto and Sean Gale.
The results, as calculated by the Associated Press, are below.