Television personality and U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz told Newsmax on Friday that energy is ''the big issue'' in Pennsylvania, where he is running, as it is across the country.
''Energy is really the big issue, both in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but [also] across the country,'' Oz, who is running as a Republican in the race, said on ''Eric Bolling: The Balance.'' ''The biggest energy issue, you know, the gas prices have gone up since last January from $2.40 to $3.40'' per gallon.
He said he is barnstorming the state and hosting town hall gatherings that have ''a lot of energy'' from the people attending to find out who he is and what he is about.
A recent Trafalgar Group poll puts Oz in the lead by 11 points for the Republican nomination against seven other candidates.
According to the poll, Oz gets 27.4% of the vote with the next challenger, David McCormick, getting 15.9%.
The poll has a margin of error of 2.99% and was conducted Feb. 1-4 with 1,070 likely GOP primary voters from, according to the organization.
Oz said that the policies of President Joe Biden are hurting the energy industry in Pennsylvania by restricting fracking, a large moneymaker for the commonwealth, as well as hurting the industry nationwide.
''[We should] get the federal government out of our way. We are hurting our nation,'' Oz said. ''This is not just about the citizens of Pennsylvania, it's for the whole country. You're actually blocking the ability for this country to be energy self-sufficient. If you go to New England, they will not use Pennsylvania natural gas; they'd rather [get it] imported from Russia. That's not the wise move for us.''
He said that there is enough natural gas under the Pennsylvania soil to power the entire country for the next century, while the Green New Deal being pushed by Biden and the Democrats is not ''scientifically feasible,'' and creates other problems for the state's economy.
''It also leads to lots of other problems,'' he said. ''Problems there are really paralyzing industry in Pennsylvania that's ready to thrive. I have not been to a single shop, pizza shop, deli, or a big factory that's fully employed.''
Oz announced his Senate bid in November after hosting a television show for 13 seasons.
''We are angry at our government and at each other,'' Oz wrote in a guest Washington Examiner column at the time. ''We have not managed our crises as effectively as past generations. During the pandemic, I learned that when you mix politics and medicine, you get politics instead of solutions. That's why I am running for the U.S. Senate: to help fix the problems and to help us heal.''
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