November 9, 2021

PHILADELPHIA — Today, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Republican Mehmet Oz — a television personality who has used his medical degree to hawk anti-science products for financial gain, push conspiracy theories, and claim at the start of the pandemic that two to three percent of American children dying of COVID-19 could be a “trade-off” to get kids back into schools — is planning on running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.

“Much like Dr. Oz’s pseudoscience and medical advice, his political aspirations are more fitting for the Emerald City than the U.S. Senate,” said Alexandra De Luca, communications director of 314 Action. 

In contrast, 314 Action Fund has endorsed Dr. Val Arkoosh, the chair of Pennsylvania’s third largest county, in the Democratic primary in this race. If elected, Arkoosh would be the first woman in Pennsylvania elected to a statewide federal office and the first woman physician elected to the U.S. Senate. CNN has already deemed this U.S. Senate seat the most likely to change party hands in 2022, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball currently considers it the only true “toss-up” Senate seat on next year’s map.

In 2022, 314 Action Fund will aim to spend $50 million to elect scientists across all levels of government, with initial targets of seven U.S. Senate races, forty U.S. House races, and twenty-one statewide races. In 2020, the organization spent $25 million on behalf of its endorsed candidates and raised a total of $5 million in grassroots donations for scientists running for office.

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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as over 100 to state and local offices. In 2021 and 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.