Recount Likely As GOP PA Senate Primary Still Too Close To Call

PENNSYLVANIA — The 2022 Republican primaries in Pennsylvania were always going to be crowded, contentious, and closely fought battles, but the U.S. Senate race has exceeded all expectations of the degree competition.

First there was the late emergence of Kathy Barnette, the 2020 Congressional candidate who lost to U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean in Montgomery County but whose far right ideologies and faithfulness to 2020 election fraud narratives stoked the embers of the MAGA wing of the party.

While Barnette ultimately did not win, she made a close race even closer between former Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs David McCormick and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz. The Pennsylvania Department of State's unofficial vote tallies leave the race still way too close to call, with Oz sitting at 416,599 votes and David McCormick holding 415,306.

A recount is expected to be automatically triggered, as it must be when the vote differential is less than 0.5 percent. This could prolong the race for days, or even weeks, leaving it unclear as to who the Democratic nominee, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, will face in November.

RELATED: Oz V. McCormick: PA GOP Senate Primary Race Remains Too Close To Call

Oz, a television host, was the favorite after receiving the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Trump urged Oz to prematurely call himself the winner on Wednesday and insinuated that his long-debunked claims of election fraud had lingered into the 2022 primaries.

"Dr. Oz should declare victory," Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social. "It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they 'just happened to find.'"

Oz's endorsement from Trump was unexpected by many MAGA followers, as there were several other candidates in the crowded field that more closely and loyally aligned with his brand. Jeff Bartos was one of them, as was Sean Gale. It was Barnette, however, who truly changed the race, as her policies and attitude drew a huge chunk of the Trump-backed vote that might've gone to the more moderate Oz.

This doubtlessly helped McCormick, himself more of an establishment Republican who held a role in the George W. Bush presidential administration, openly supported Jeb Bush's presidential campaign, declined a role in the Trump administration, and did not donate to Trump's 2016 or 2020 campaigns.

McCormick expressed confidence in a social media statement Wednesday.

"In the final days of the primary campaign, I saw great momentum coming our way," McCormick said. "I’m confident we are going to WIN this election, & I look forward to bringing our party & this commonwealth together around our America First agenda!"

The election could well be determined by mail-in ballots. Oz had nearly 30,000, while McCormick had closer to 40,000, and if McCormick prevails, his stronger showing there could prove to be the difference.

Assuming a recount occurs, it is not yet clear exactly when the process would begin.