Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is accusing Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, of being a snake oil salesman.
That is the message Mr. Fetterman, the Democratic nominee, is pumping into viewers’ homes in his latest campaign ad, warning voters that Mr. Oz has a history of selling bogus medical cures to an unsuspecting public.
The latest ad features a woman named Lynne from Indiana, Pennsylvania, who recalls watching Mr. Oz promote “magic” pills for everything on his syndicated TV show, “The Dr. Oz Show.”
“Raspberry Ketones. Sea Buckthorn. Alpha CycloDextrin. Yacon Syrup. Garcinia Cambogia,” she says. “Dr. Oz pushed all those pills and he knew they didn’t really work.”
The ad then bounces to a video clip of Mr. Oz telling members of Congress in 2014 “there’s not a pill that’s going to help you lose weight without diet and exercise.”
“He took advantage of his viewers,” Lynne says in the ad. “Now he expects us to trust him as a politician?”
“Fughettaboutit,” she adds.
Mr. Fetterman leads the Trump-backed Mr. Oz in the polls less than two months out from Election Day after pounding home the message that Mr. Oz is a wealthy carpetbagger who is out of touch with the challenges facing working class voters.
The clashes between the candidates have escalated in recent weeks, with Mr. Oz shining a spotlight on Mr. Fetterman’s health months after he suffered a stroke.
Mr. Oz has questioned whether Mr. Fetterman has shied away from debates because he wants to hide his liberal policy views from voters. Mr. Oz also has questioned whether the lingering side effects from the health scare make Mr. Fetterman unfit for the job.
The new Fetterman ad rehashes some of the criticism Mr. Oz has faced in the past for promoting weight loss products that are not backed by science.
Mr. Oz appeared before a Senate panel in 2014 to discuss diet scams and some of the weight-loss products he touted on his program. He vouched for 80% of the products.
He said the pills he advocates for are safe and effective — so much so he has given the products to members of his family.
“I do personally believe in the items I talk about in the show,” Mr. Oz said at the time. “I passionately study them.”
“I recognize that, oftentimes, they don’t have the scientific muster to present as fact,” he said.