Former President Donald Trump urged U.S. Senate candidate, Dr. Mehmet Oz, to declare victory over hedge fund manager David McCormick in the too-close-to-call Pennsylvania Republican primary on Wednesday morning.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find.'”
The votes will likely require a recount as the margin is currently less than 0.5%, under Pennsylvania state law, unless the runner-up declines the recount and concedes. As of Thursday night, Oz still held a sliver of a lead over McCormick coming in at one-tenth of a percentage point higher. That’s just 1,083 votes, and as more votes are counted, the margin continues to decrease.
Pennsylvania Republicans say the affair could last weeks and neither camp seems like they will concede. They have both released statements saying they believe the votes will fall in their favor.
Both campaigns have also added members of Trump’s 2020 team to help them in the recount. McCormick has enlisted Mike Roman, who was the director of Trump’s Election Day operations while Oz is bringing on James Fitzpatrick who headed Trump’s Pennsylvania Election Day operations. Both campaigns have also added additional lawyers that specialize in recounts.
If there is a recount as all signs have indicated, it must begin by June 1 and be completed by June 7.
