Dave McCormick conceded to Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania's Republican US Senate primary amid a recount in the highly competitive race.
The race and the stakes:
McCormick conceded the race on June 3, over a week after officials called for a recount in the razor-thin Senate race to determine the Republican nominee for an open seat vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey.
Insider's partners at Decision Desk HQ officially projected Oz as the winner after a recount determined that Oz won by 951 votes.
"It's now clear to me with the recount now largely complete that we have a nominee," McCormick said at a June 3 event in Pittsburgh, according to The Associated Press. "Tonight is really about all us coming together."
Oz's narrow lead over McCormick fell well within the 0.5-point margin that triggers an automatic threshold for a recount in Pennsylvania. Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman called the recount on May 25, which was still in process when McCormick conceded.
McCormick's concession to Oz, the celebrity doctor and a mainstay of daytime television, marks another big win for President Donald Trump's endorsement record in competitive statewide primary races.
Trump-endorsed candidate JD Vance also won a crowded primary for an open US Senate seat in Ohio with Trump's backing, but Trump's endorsed candidates suffered high-profile losses in recent statewide elections in Georgia.
Oz will face Lt. Governor John Fetterman in the general election for what is expected to be one of the most competitive US Senate races in the country.
Fetterman, the former mayor of Braddock, suffered a stroke the weekend before the May 17 primary election. Fetterman also disclosed on Friday that the stroke, which he said nearly killed him, stemmed from a heart issue previously diagnosed in 2017.
Fetterman easily defeated his main rivals, Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, in the race for the Democratic nomination for the seat, giving him an early jump on the general election.
McCormick and Oz, two wealthy candidates who've lent their own campaigns $11 million and $12 million, respectively, spent much of the primary cycle attacking each other on the airwaves and largely ignoring their lesser-known rivals like Kathy Barnette, who put up a stronger than expected performance, earning over 24% of the vote.
McCormick, also a US Army veteran, was endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz and several former top Trumpworld figures, some of whom also consulted for his campaign.