With the Pennsylvania Senate race heating up between Democrat Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and GOP nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz, a former rival is going to appear with Oz as the race heads into the final months.
David McCormick, an undersecretary in the George W. Bush administration, lost to Oz in the GOP primary this spring by less than 1,000 votes, will attend a national security and foreign policy panel with Oz, former Trump Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, and Trump administration State Department press secretary Morgan Ortagus, Politico reported Thursday.
McCormick's close loss and fierce campaign battles have given way to the Bush Republican to support the Trump-endorsed candidate for the general election, including donating the maximum allowed to Oz's campaign, according to the report.
Ortagus has been stumping for Republican House and Senate candidates in recent weeks and helped set up next Wednesday's panel to unify former combatants for the GOP in a key battleground race, Politico reported.
"It's a close race and one of the reasons it's a close race is because it was a bruising primary and every vote is going to matter in Pennsylvania," Ortagus told Politico. "I think showing party unity and cohesion on something as important as national security topics that we are discussing that will be front and center in the new Congress is an important signal to Republicans around Pennsylvania who supported McCormick."
Democrats are pouring time, energy, and resources into Fetterman's campaign to try to fill the Senate seat currently being held by the retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
This panel might also help McCormick launch a campaign to flip the seat of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in 2024.
"It'll be great for Oz and for McCormick to get together and lock hands before November," GOP strategist and former McCormick adviser Dave Urban told Politico. "There's a sense he'd be a great candidate for Senate, governor – I think people want more Dave McCormick."
Ultimately, national security and foreign policy are key issued Republicans can use to target President Joe Biden and his Democrat-held Congress.
"I thought there was a big gaping hole on the Republican side of the aisle on looking at national security from a campaign perspective," Ortagus told Politico. "I wanted to make foreign policy and national security relevant to everyone."
Trump is hosting a Save America rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, this Saturday night, which will air live on Newsmax.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.