Dr Oz campaign struggles to explain reversal on accepting money from corporations

FEC records show Republican candidate took money from eight different corporate PACs after pledging not to do so

Dr Mehmet Oz’s campaign has been caught going back on the candidate’s word, thanks to reporting from the Philly Inquirer.

The newspaper revealed through an analysis of public Federal Election Committee (FEC) filings that the Republican US Senate candidate has accepted contributions from eight separate corporate political action committees (PACs) since pledging against taking such money in January.

Chief among the corporate interests funding Dr Oz’s campaign are oil and gas companies including Sunoco’s parent company as well as a PAC associated with Alliance Coal, a Texas-based firm, as well as one representing the North Dakota Petroleum Council.

“I will not take one dime from Corporate PAC money,” reads a tweet from 3 January 2022 that remains up on Dr Oz’s account.

His spokesman, Brittany Yanick, claimed that the GOP nominee for Senate would refund a donation from Bloomin’ Brands, owners of Outback Steakhouse, but did not address the other donations when contacted by the Inquirer. She wrongly asserted that the campaign was not taking PAC money.

“Dr. Oz made a pledge not to take one dime of corporate PAC money, and he has not done so,” Ms Yanick said.

Democrat John Fetterman’s team reposted an image of the Inquirer’s story on Twitter Thursday morning, thumbing its nose at their GOP rival with a simple caption: “This you??”

The Republican’s team has recently backtracked from a series of especially vicious comments made by Ms Yanick and others related to Mr Fetterman’s recovery from a stroke while continuing to insist that the Democrat is unfit for office as a result of the condition. The campaign also falsely accused Mr Fetterman of hiring murderers to work on his campaign team after Mr Fetterman hired two men whose wrongful convictions were unanimously tossed out by a state parole board.

The Pennsylvania Senate race remains neck-and-neck amid a wave of Republican ad spending and attacks from conservative media; Mr Fetterman led his opponent for much of the summer and late spring but has seen his lead fade amid the onslaught. The dueling candidates will face off in their only debate of the campaign on 25 October.

Democrats have appeared to be caught flat-footed by the late wave of Republican spending across a number of different races, leading candidates and their allies in a number of tought but prominent races complaining of being abandoned by the national Democratic Party.