HARRISBURG – Acting Secretary of State Leigh M. Chapman announced today the mandatory statewide recount confirmed Mehmet Oz as the winner of the U.S. Senate Republican race.
Oz received 419,999 votes, 951 more than the second-place finisher, David McCormick, whose vote total was 419,048.
“I commend all county election workers and volunteers for their hard work and dedication over the last few weeks,” Chapman said. “They started by handling millions of ballots from the May 17 primary, then ensured a smooth recount of those ballots while millions of people eagerly awaited the results.”
The recount results are as follows:
Mehmet C. Oz – 419,999 (31.1%)
David H. McCormick – 419,048 (31.0%)
Kathy J. Barnette – 331,864 (24.6%)
Carla Herd Sands – 73,316 (5.4%)
Jeffrey A. Bartos – 66,619 (4.9%)
Sean Peter Gale – 20,251 (1.5%)
George A. Bochetto – 14,480 (1.1%)
Chapman ordered the recount May 26 after unofficial results showed Oz and McCormick, the first- and second-place finishers respectively, had vote totals within the one-half of one percent margin (0.5%) that automatically triggers a mandatory recount under state law.
All 67 counties submitted their recount results to the Department of State. The recount results reflect the tallies of all eligible in-person ballots, mail-in and absentee ballots, provisional ballots, and military and overseas ballots. The result totals do not include undated or wrongly dated ballots, which counties reported separately to the department.
The department estimates that the recount cost will exceed $1 million.
This is the seventh time the automatic recount provision under Act 97 of 2004 has been triggered, with four completed recounts.
The first recount was conducted in the Superior Court race in November 2009, in which nine candidates were competing for four vacancies. In that election, there was a difference of 3,330 votes between the fourth- and sixth-place candidates, and a margin of 2,006 votes between the fourth- and fifth-place finishers. The recount affirmed the initial results of the election.
The second recount was ordered in May 2011 in the Democratic primary contest for a seat on the Commonwealth Court, when the margin between the two candidates was 2,116 votes. The recount affirmed the initial results of the election.
The third recount was ordered in November 2021 in the Commonwealth Court race for two open seats when the margin between the second- and third-place candidates was 16,804 votes. The recount affirmed the initial results of the election.
A recount in the 2010 Democratic primary race for lieutenant governor was averted when the trailing candidate waived his right to a recount. In 2017, three candidates for Superior Court, all whose vote totals fell within the recount margin, waived their right to a recount. And in 2019, the third-place finisher in the race for two open seats on the Superior Court waived her right to a recount.
