Murphy still sees Dr. Oz as a Jersey guy

The governor of New Jersey and the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania are on the same page: Dr. Mehmet Oz is still a Jersey guy.

Asked today about Oz’s U.S. Senate candidacy in Pennsylvania, Gov. Phil Murphy said that Oz – until very recently a denizen of Cliffside Park in Bergen County – is a New Jersey resident as far as he’s concerned.

“Based on everything I know, he lives in Bergen County, and he’s running for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania,” Murphy said at a press gaggle in Camden. “At least where I’m from, that doesn’t add up.”

Oz’s Democratic opponent, Pennsylvania Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman, has hammered Oz for months over his weak connections to Pennsylvania. The Fetterman campaign has flown banners over the Jersey Shore mocking Oz, paid Snooki to urge him to move back home to New Jersey, and pushed for his induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, antics which Murphy today called “pretty funny.”

Fetterman’s charges of carpetbagging aren’t just idle campaign attacks; Oz really is a longtime New Jerseyan with deep ties to the state. The former TV medical personality considered running for Senate in New Jersey twice, in 2006 and 2008, before moving to Pennsylvania in late 2020 and launching his Senate campaign there instead.

A number of New Jersey politicians have lampooned Oz’s Senate candidacy since its inception, most notably Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), who just last week tweeted in support of Oz’s induction into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

“I want to congratulate my North Jersey constituent Dr. Oz on his run for US Senate in Pennsylvania,” Pascrell said in November 2021, shortly after Oz began his campaign. “I’m sure this fully genuine candidacy will capture the hearts of Pennsylvanians.”

But regardless of the mockery on this side of the Delaware, Oz has a very real possibility of becoming Pennsylvania’s next U.S. Senator. Most polls have found Fetterman leading by low single digits, and in a competitive state like Pennsylvania, a red wave could easily sweep Oz into office.