BETHLEHEM, Pa. — With the campaign season starting to heat up, Mehmet Oz took his U.S. Senate campaign to Bethlehem on Saturday afternoon, where he went on a tour of Musikfest.
Walking down Main Street with an entourage that included U.S. House candidate Lisa Scheller, the Republican nominee shook hands and posed for photos with several well-wishers, though a few hecklers told him to “go back to New Jersey.”
Oz, the former heart surgeon and TV talk show host, says he loves being able to talk one-on-one with people.
“I love being with people,” Oz said. “I mean, as a doctor, you have to or you’re not going to enjoy the job. What I really love is gearing up for folks and seeing how their lives are going. Some people are totally optimistic about America and say, go, go campaign because we have a lot of people who know how to live their life. What they primarily want me to do is get the government out of the way they feel like rules and regulations have stifled them.”
After a two-block walk, Oz was given a personal tour of the Hotel Bethlehem by owner Bruce Haines. He asked Oz for his support in making downtown Bethlehem a World Heritage Site for its historic Moravian roots.
“We’re happy to have you here and we support you,” Haines said. “You will be a great senator.”
Oz was in the Lehigh Valley a day after his Democratic opponent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman made his first campaign appearance in Erie. Fetterman had been sidelined for three months after suffering a stroke, though he was still able to mount a campaign via social media and TV commercials.
Election prognosticators, such as the Cook Political Report, consider the race a toss-up and Oz said he was glad Fetterman is back on the trail.
“I’m thrilled,” Oz said. “It’s hard to dance by yourself, right? So I wanted to be able to get him out hearing what voters are saying. The first thing a doctor learns is how to listen to your patients. So when I listen to people, I get ideas from them, but also I understand more about what their challenges are. And that’s how you get solutions.”
On Friday, Oz’s campaign agreed to five debates across the state, though Fetterman’s campaign has yet to reply.
“Yeah, we’ve been pretty vocal about the fact that we have to have some debates for democracy to work,” Oz said. “You have to have people actually talking to reporters, dialoguing with constituents debating each other. How else can people actually see what they’re voting for?”
Inside the Hotel Bethlehem, Oz said he’s concerned about issues such as inflation and energy policy.
“Rather than feed their families, support their communities and enjoy Pennsylvania, they feel like they’re overstretched,” Oz said of voters. “We’ve done things that weren’t necessary and now we’ve created a cycle of inflation that is risky for their well being and their future. They think it was self-inflicted and that makes you especially upset.”
Oz gave an example with energy policy. He said he’s an advocate for U.S. self-reliance and criticized Fetterman’s stances on that issue.
“It’s one thing to have a lot of money and COVID and throw money at problems that you don’t have to foolishly put us at risk,” he said. “But then you also have an almost religious belief that there has to be green energy, only green energy which probably scientifically is unwise. Now you start to vilify the energy sector and the people in that sector won’t drill. They can’t make facilities to allow us to be self dependent. And that causes problems because you lose livelihoods in homes. You raise prices, which is probably a third of inflation, which is driven by energy costs and you hurt our ability to be safe as a country because other countries now can make energy and impose their will on us.”
When asked what he would say to voters who may be hesitant to support GOP candidates because of issues such as LGBT rights, Oz said he would support the Respect for Marriage Act that was recently passed in the U.S. House and is waiting for action in the Senate.
The act would protect marriage equality by repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and providing federal protections for same-sex and interracial couples.
“I am very supportive of the gay marriage bill that has not been voted on yet in the Senate, but even when the House looked at it, I said it’s a smart thing for us to do because I’m pro marriage,” Oz said.
On abortion rights, Oz said it should be left to the states.
“The issue around life is, to me, a local issue,” he said. “Our health care is always better delivered locally and I trust democracy will allow local people to resume speaking to local representatives and make sure that Harrisburg reflects their desires. I don’t want the federal government interfering with what happens in Pennsylvania.”
