Vote counting in Pennsylvania's Republican primary for U.S. Senate dragged into a third day as Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick remained essentially tied with tens of thousands of ballots left to count. Oz led McCormick by 1,240 votes as of midday on Thursday.
The race remained close enough to trigger Pennsylvania's automatic recount law. Oz's margin has narrowed in the past day, as county election officials continue to count mail ballots, but election workers still have thousands of ballots left to count. Pennsylvania's acting secretary of state, Leigh Chapman, said on Thursday there are about 50,000 ballots left to be counted.
Oz’s margin narrowed in the past day, the Associated Press reported. County election officials continued to count mail ballots, but election workers still had thousands of ballots left to count in the exceptionally close race. Pennsylvania’s Department of State, which oversees elections, said Thursday that there were about 51,000 mail-in and absentee ballots — 17,000 in the Republican primary — left to be counted.