Centre County Dems rally to support Fetterman over ‘carpetbagging millionaire’ Dr. Oz
A handful of Democratic Centre County leaders gathered Wednesday for a press conference to fully pledge their support for the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, and to speak against the Republican nominee.
Those supporting John Fetterman for the seat, currently held by outgoing Senator Pat Toomey, included Michael Pipe, chair of the Centre County Commissioners, Ezra Nanes, mayor of State College, Robert Zeigler, Millheim borough council member and candidate for state House District 171, and Paul Takac, College Township Council member and candidate for state House District 82.
“We are here today for one purpose, and that is to call out the fraud from New Jersey, Dr. Oz, who thinks he can buy a Senate seat here in Pennsylvania with his multi-million dollars,” Pipe said. “Mehmet Oz is a self serving, carpetbagging millionaire, who thinks he can just lie and scam his way into the U.S. Senate.”
In an email, Brittany Yanick, Dr. Oz for Senate’s communications director, wrote Pennsylvania is ready to elect Oz to the Senate.
“Pennsylvania is ready to elect a strong leader in November who will stand up to the far-left and help heal our great country, Dr. Mehmet Oz. Unlike John Fetterman, who supports a government takeover of healthcare that would eliminate millions of American private health insurance, Dr. Oz will fight against the overreaching Biden agenda to return prosperity and safety to Pennsylvania,” Yanick wrote.
Takac spoke of the “incredible and diverse group” that make up communities in Centre County, consisting of farmers, small business owners, new families and college students. They’re all proud to call Centre County their home, he said. People and communities here know best what they need, he said, and he’s heard from them directly by knocking on “thousands and thousands” of doors and talking to them.
“...We know that what matters most is support for working families. And that means, among other things, ensuring access to comprehensive health care, fair funding for public education, a living wage for all workers and fully funding Medicare and Social Security, which so many folks we know people — who have spent their entire lives enriching our communities — now rely on to survive and to live with dignity. But Mehmet Oz has made it clear that he doesn’t care about our neighborhoods, neighbors or their livelihoods,” Takac said.
“John Fetterman … has proven himself to be an advocate for working families, working class people and senior citizens. He is the best choice for Pennsylvania this year and for years to come,” Takac said.
They all agreed that the stakes in this election are high and that Pennsylvania couldn’t afford to have Oz as its senator. Pipe said Oz’s agenda in Washington, D.C. would threaten Social Security and Medicare, abortion access, and raise taxes on millions of Pennsylvanians.
Plus, the Pennsylvania Senate race could decide the U.S. Senate majority, Nanes said. Fetterman “has the backbone” to fight for what is right and for what matters most to Pennsylvanians, Nanes said, and he specifically mentioned Fetterman’s “unequivocal” support for LGBTQ+ rights.
“With Mehmet Oz, you have a calculating opportunist who’s come to Pennsylvania to buy his way into a U.S. Senate seat,” Nanes said.
Zeigler said Oz has made money from “peddling lies and fake medicine” and is trying to get elected to the Senate the same way.
“When given the choice between either of these two candidates, look at John Fetterman. He’s a man who has spent his life fighting for Pennsylvanians, and the choice couldn’t be clearer,” Zeigler said.
Pipe urged voters to be united behind Fetterman.
“The stakes are so high in this election, they could not be higher, and make it clear that we need John Fetterman as our next U.S. senator,” Pipe said. “While Republicans just wrapped up the most nastiest, messiest, costly election in the history of Pennsylvania, we Democrats, we are united behind our candidate, John Fetterman.”
