Recount Makes Oz Win Official

Update: Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon endorsed by former President Donald Trump, officially won Pennsylvania's Republican US Senate primary on Wednesday, narrowly defeating former hedge fund CEO David McCormick after a dayslong recount. McCormick conceded on Friday, before the recount was complete. The recount determined that Oz had eked out victory over McCormick by 951 votes out of more than 1.3 million cast, the AP reports. In the general election, Oz will face Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is recovering from a stroke. Our story from May 27 follows:

Declining to wait for the results of Pennsylvania's primary recount, Mehmet Oz on Friday laid out his plans for a general election campaign, saying he's "earned the presumptive Republican nomination." The recount is just beginning; counties have until June 8 to submit their totals. Oz's lead heading into it is 923 votes—a margin of .07%—over David McCormick. State law requires a recount when the vote is that close. Former President Donald Trump pushed Oz last week to declare himself the winner. Asked about Oz's statement Friday, Politico reports, an aide to McCormick said, "Presumptive is right."

Although recounts don't usually change the outcome, not only has no one but Trump and Oz declared a winner, news organizations haven't made such a projection. A wild card in this recount is the fact that there are ballots that weren't counted the first time, per NBC News. They include military, provisional, and overseas ballots, as well as a group of 860 mail-in and absentee ballots that arrived without a handwritten date on the envelope. McCormick has sued in an effort to have them counted. A court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

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In Oz's video, which was posted on Twitter, the celebrity TV doctor turned to the general election, saying he's "going to reach to every corner of this commonwealth" and will "work with anybody who’s got good ideas." McCormick's campaign issued a statement Tuesday in which the former hedge fund boss said that he expected a recount and that "we look forward to a swift resolution so our party can unite." (More Pennsylvania primary stories.)