Former President Donald Trump urged Dr. Mehmet Oz on Wednesday to declare victory in the Republican Senate primary election, even as votes are still being tallied in the close race.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform. “It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find.’”
Donald Trump – Truth Social – 5/18/2022
Trump’s message indicated he was concerned that Oz’s opponent David McCormick had a chance of pulling ahead as more ballots are counted.
The former president endorsed Oz in the race and even held a rally for him in Pennsylvania.
Oz is currently leading the tally with 413,227 votes while McCormick is a close second with 411,048 votes.
It is unclear when all of the votes will be counted in the state, as some counties are still counting mail-in ballots, overseas ballots, and military absentee ballots.
The McCormick team believes they are receiving a greater percentage of absentee ballots than Oz, allowing them to pull ahead and win the race.
“Based on how many uncounted absentee ballots there are and the margin by which Dave has won them so far, that’s why we are confident of victory,” McCormick’s consultant wrote on social media. “Dave will win this race.”