- Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Oz appeared to claim the state was on the coast.
- The race for the crucial senate seat has been marked by gaffes and mishaps by the candidates.
Republican Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Oz appeared to suggest that the state is on the Atlantic coast.
In a Monday appearance on Fox News with host Sean Hannity, Oz discussed the importance of the race for the GOP.
—Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 1, 2022
"This is important: We do not have a Republican senator north of North Carolina on the Atlantic coast until you get to Maine, if I don't hold this seat," Oz told Sean Hannity.
"And there's been a Republican senator in Pennsylvania most of my life. I'm going to keep one here as well."
Oz's geography was wrong: Pennsylvania is not on the Atlantic coast, unlike its neighboring states of Delaware or New Jersey, where Oz lived for years. The bodies of water Pennsylvania borders are the Delaware River to the east and Lake Erie to the northwest.
Oz's opponent, Democratic candidate John Fetterman, has repeatedly criticized Oz for his lack of ties to Pennsylvania. A former reality-TV doctor, Oz only recently moved to the state where he is seeking office, and was accused of filming a campaign video from his mansion in New Jersey.
Fetterman's lead has slipped in recent weeks, and the race is now considered a toss up. In a debate last week Fetterman made a series of verbal slips, seemingly still suffering the effects of a stroke he had in May.
Oz attracted criticism for claiming that "local political leaders" should play a key role in women's decisions over abortions.
The seat is seen as crucial to Republican chances of overturning the Democrats' razor-thin majority in the Senate and seizing control of the upper chamber in the midterms.