(WHTM) – Much has been made in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race if whether Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee, is from Pennsylvania.
Oz, the former longtime host of “The Dr. Oz Show” and an Attending Physician at NY Presbyterian-Columbia Medical Center, was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Turkish parents and holds dual Turkish citizenship that he’s vowed to renounce if elected.
Oz has listed his address in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, and campaign address in Huntingdon Valley, but his longtime home has been in Cliffside Park, New Jersey.
A report from the Associated Press says financial disclosure documents from Oz show he has amassed assets worth more than $100 million, including homes, stock, life insurance, and connections to his in-laws’ tree-trimming empire.
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Oz valued his assets at between $104 million and $422 million, according to a tally by The Philadelphia Inquirer. The financial disclosure documents list two Cliffside Park, New Jersey homes and a suburban Philadelphian home, all valued at more than $1 million. He also has multiple properties in Florida, New York, and Massachusetts.
A December report from The Philadelphia Inquirer also found social media posts appearing to show Oz at his Cliffside Park home and in New York in the leadup to his Senate campaign.
Oz did attend the University of Pennsylvania where he has a joint MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School. Two of his children were also born in Pennsylvania.
In an interview with abc27’s Dennis Owens before the primary election, Oz said he’s in “good shape” if the biggest criticism against him is his residency.
“I’m very proud that I’m a Pennsylvanian,” Oz said. “They care much more for what I stand for than where I’m from.”
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The U.S. Constitution only requires that a U.S. Senator resides in the state at the time of their election with no one or two-year residency requirement nor homeownership necessary.
A WHTM/Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll released in September showed Fetterman leading Oz 44.6% to 42.6% with a +/-3% margin of error. Third-party candidates received 5% and 7.9% were undecided.
According to the poll respondents, 38.5% of voters were less likely to support Oz because of his New Jersey residency. Forty-seven percent of voters said Oz’s longtime New Jersey residency had no effect on their vote and 14.1% said it makes them more likely to vote for him.
Since the August Emerson Pennsylvania poll, the share of voters who say they are less likely to support Oz because of his residence decreased by 12 points from 51% to 39%.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report