CARLISEL, Pennsylvania (AP) – Republican Senate hope Mehmet Oz is stepping up criticism of far-right Pennsylvania candidates gaining popularity ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
After spending most of the campaign avoiding Republican nominee Kathy Barnett, Oz said Saturday he was out of step with the Republican Party and would not be able to win the November general election. In an interview, he objected to a 2015 tweet from Barnett in which she wrote that “Pedophilia is a cornerstone of Islam.”
Oz, who will be the country’s first Muslim senator, described the comments as “disqualifying”.
“It is reprehensible for her to post on Twitter something that is defamatory of an entire religion,” Oz told the Associated Press. “This state was based on religious freedom. As a Pennsylvanian, I am proud to uphold these fundamental beliefs, that every faith has its merits.
Barnette’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week, Barnett told NBC News that she had not made the statement, which is still live on her Twitter show on Saturday.
For months, the race for the Republican nomination for the open seat in the Pennsylvania Senate has been a costly battle between former hedge fund CEO David McCormick and Oz, who spent millions of dollars attacking himself on television. Each of them also faced questions about their ties to Pennsylvania. McCormick grew up in the state while Oz graduated from medical school there and married in Philadelphia.
But in the final days of the Republican primary, a third candidate emerged, Barnett, a conservative commentator who courted hardline pro-Trump groups. Trump himself warned that Barnett’s origins had not been properly verified.
With only a few days left in the election, opinion polls show a narrow tripartite race with a significant number of undecided voters that could affect next week’s results.
Oz won Trump’s approval in the Senate race, although some Trump supporters continue to question his conservative qualities.
When asked to clarify his views on abortion in Saturday’s interview, Oz distanced himself from Trump’s newly elected Governor of Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, a far-right conservative who called abortion “the number one problem.” In a recent televised debate, Mastriano said he supported a ban on abortion from conception, without exception, of rape, incest or the mother’s life.
Oz described himself as a pro-life, but said he would prefer a ban on abortions in Pennsylvania, which would include exceptions to rape, incest and the mother’s life.
“There are times when we disagree with other defenders of life,” Oz told the AP. “In my case, these differences often arise because, as a doctor, I have dealt with problems that threaten my mother’s life.
However, Oz spared his harshest criticism of Barnett, reiterating Trump’s fears that her origins had not been carefully verified. He referred to her previous comments on Islam, noting that she also has a history of anti-gay remarks.
“We know so little,” Oz said. “Every time she answers a question, she raises more questions. But I think it is disqualifying to make Islamophobic and homophobic comments, not only on the general election, but also on the Republican primary.
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Associated Press writer Mark Levy of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to the report.
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