Seven candidates ran in the Republican primary election for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania on May 17, 2022. Senator Pat Toomey (R) did not run for re-election.
As of 8:00 a.m. EDT on May 18, 2022, the race remained too close to call. Based on unofficial returns with 95% of precincts reporting, Mehmet Oz led with 31.2% of the vote, while David McCormick received 31.1%, and Kathy Barnette received 24.8%. Under state law, any vote margin within 0.5% would be subject to an automatic recount. An automatic recount in this race must be ordered by May 26, begin by June 1, and be completed by June 7.
Former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Oz in April. On May 12, Trump issued a statement opposing Barnette. “Barnette will never be able to win the General Election against the Radical Left Democrats. She has many things in her past which have not been properly explained or vetted,” he said. In response to Trump’s statement, Barnette said, “It sounds like the president knows what’s going to happen on next Tuesday . . . We now have the opportunity where the people are making their voices heard on what kind of leadership they want — and they don’t want to be spoon-fed two globalists, as many influencers within the Republican Party are trying to sell us, they want a real conservative.”
