Oz campaigns in Cranberry Twp.
CRANBERRY TWP — Speaking to a dining room full of supporters at Domenico’s Ristorante, U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz focused on issues of inflation, drugs and crime during a campaign speech Monday morning.
Oz spoke to an audience of around 60 people, and was accompanied by Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, about getting out to vote for Republican candidates in the upcoming midterm election.
In a short speech, Oz criticized his opponent John Fetterman as well as President Joe Biden and Democrats in general for their handling of current issues.
“The only thing Joe Biden has built back better is the Republican Party,” Oz said. “He’s made us stronger.”
He asked supporters to speak with their neighbors and friends about crime, the economy, and the opioid crisis to encourage them to vote for him and other Republicans.
“You create a world where there’s lawlessness, and that gets people angry, so I would talk about that,” Oz said, referencing three people killed in a shooting over the weekend on the North Side in Pittsburgh as an example of crime.
“(Crime) is the topic with the most intensity,” he said. “If I were you, I would talk about the economy, because it’s the most common topic, the drugs, because it’s the most painful topic, and talk about crime, because it’s the most intense topic.”
Oz spoke in support of the natural gas industry, and criticized Democrats for spending “recklessly.” He asked supporters to focus on asking other voters whether they are “happy with the way America is headed.”
“70% are going to say, ‘No, we’re really hurt about our nation. We love America, and we’re not happy with where it’s headed,’” Oz said. “Together, we can make this happen, and nothing will get in our way. We just have to have confidence in ourselves as Americans. That’s always the grit that’s allowed us to persevere, and it’s what we stand for right now.”
At the event, Cotton described electing Oz as “vital to the future, safety, and prosperity of this nation.”
“If you want to put the brakes on the Biden agenda, if you want to stop what the Democrats have done to this country over the last two years, we have to elect Dr. Oz,” Cotton said. “There is no majority in the United States Senate that doesn’t go through Pennsylvania.”
“We always hear this is the most important election in our lives, but this is more than that,” Kelly said. “It is the most important election in the life of this nation. Let’s make sure that we stand united.”
Attendee Jan Howard, of Marshall Township, Allegheny County, said she and her husband have supported Oz’s campaign “from the outset,” adding that Oz’s positions on the energy sector are appealing to her.
“I really believe that Dr. Oz is a problem solver,” she said. “He has not been a career politician, and he doesn’t have those connections. Because he has been successful in his private life, he knows what it takes to be a success. Sometimes, it’s just best to have the smartest kid in the room making the votes, and looking for the solutions to the problems that this country has.”
Pat Stirling, of Lancaster Township, said her support for Oz was rooted in concerns about the economy and crime.
“My daughter drives a long distance for work, and when you have to put $50 or $100 in your gas tank, that’s got to come from somewhere, and (Democrats) are not offering any solutions, they’re only allowing the problems to be exacerbated,” she said. “The issues we are dealing with now, they’re not party issues, they’re the whole country, and everyone of every age is dealing with them.”
Ben Holland, of Mars, brought his 5-year-old son, Jack, to the speech with the hopes of introducing him to current events and political participation.
“We need to engage the next generation. We owe it to our children to involve them in civics,” he said. “We’re a family with principled conservative values. I got involved when I was 13, I think that’s really critical to kind of whetting their appetite, and for them to realize that they can bring about meaningful change, and that hope is not lost.”
