Dr. Mehmet Oz's run for Pennsylvania's open U.S. Senate seat has been nothing short of polarizing; the heart surgeon-turned-television personality has mounted a campaign that has attacked his opponent John Fetterman's tattoos, health and record on crime, earning him the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
Now, a week before the mid-term election, all eyes have shifted to the people employed by Oz's campaign.
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An Oct. 30 article in Rolling Stone revealed that at least two people who worked for Oz's campaign took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021.
One is Gloria Lee Snover, Oz's campaign coordinator for Northampton County, Pa. Snover's political background includes being a district-level delegate for the 2016 Republican National Convention. She also currently chairs the Northampton County GOP.
According to Rolling Stone, Snover, a Trump supporter, backed the former president's attempt to rally people to overturn the vote after he lost his re-election to Joe Biden in 2020.
She took part in a Jan. 2, 2021 Zoom call that preceded the insurrection with over 300 state legislators, Rudy Giuliani and Trump. During that call, Trump told the legislators they had the real power, as he sought to do everything possible to stop Biden from becoming the next president. Several people on that call were a part of the "Stop the Steal" movement which grew nationwide with rallies across states, where people alleged that the election had been stolen from Trump amid widespread voter fraud.
During a radio interview for Fetch Your News on Jan. 4, Snover said that the call was "informative" and "fact-based."
Two days later, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C., Snover marched with them. But, according to Lehigh Valley Live, while she walked to the steps, she did not go inside the building.
"I did not see any violence today," Snover posted to Facebook. "Last I checked the Capitol belongs to the people. The only violence I saw were the police teargassing patriots for no reason. Stop closing the doors to government buildings they belong to the people we pay for them. Government works for us."
Snover, who is not publicly listed on Oz's payroll via Federal Election Commission records, changed her opinion of the Republican candidate after he secured Trump's support. In her estimation, Oz went from an opportunist to a viable candidate with the former president's endorsement.
A second person working for Oz's campaign, paid adviser Josh Bashline, admitted he was at the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Bashline, who worked as a field organizer for Trump, reportedly marched to the Capitol building but, like Snover, did not go inside. According to Vice, Bashline said that he was "shocked" by the violence from the rally and "the only way to do things was non-violently."
Oz has played both sides when it comes to the 2020 presidential election.
As the Guardian noted, Oz said in a primary debate that "we cannot move on" from the 2020 election, suggesting that fraud was involved in Biden's 306 electoral vote win.
Now, Oz says he would have certified Biden's victory.
During a September NBC interview with Vaughn Hillyard, Oz was asked if he would have objected to Biden's win.
"By the time the delegates and those reports were sent to the U.S. Senate, our job was to approve it, which is what I would have done," he replied.
The 2020 election results were delayed due to the count process in multiple states. In addition, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, several mail-in ballots slowed down results by days. Nevertheless, the election results were counted under the watchful eye of Republican observers, despite Trump claiming they were banned.
Five people died during or in the days after the Jan.6 attack, including one person shot by police. Many people were also injured, including about 140 police officers. Damages to the building exceeded $2.7 million.
Oz, who won the Republican primary over David McCormick by 951 votes, and his Democratic challenger Fetterman are embroiled in one of most important Senate races in the country, according to pundits. Pennsylvania was a crucial swing state in the 2020 presidential election, and along with Georgia, it could decide which party controls the majority come 2023.
The election is next Tuesday, Nov. 8.