John Fetterman campaign raises half a million dollars following mockery of Dr Oz crudité video

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman’s campaign said on Tuesday that it had raised $500,000 since his Republican opponent in the Senate race Mehmet Oz posted a video of himself shopping for crudité that was widely mocked online.

Dr Oz was filmed at a grocery store in Pennsylvania shopping for ingredients for crudité, which is typically a plate of sliced vegetables, in an attempt to show rising grocery prices as a result of inflation.

But many mocked Dr Oz for holding the vegetables with his bare hands and for seeming out of touch with the larger population.

In a press release, Mr Fetterman’s campaign manager Brendan McPhillips that his team raised half a million dollars in the 24 hours since Dr Oz’s video appeared. Specifically, $65,000 came from a campaign sticker that read: “Wegners: Let them eat Crudité.”

“Our supporters--and everyone really from a look at the last few days--love to dunk on Dr Oz,” Mr McPhillips said in a statement. “John actually understands what it’s like to go to a grocery store and see prices go up. Oz clearly has never been inside a grocery store before. That’s why this is resonating with supporters across Pennsylvania.”

Mr Fetterman returned to campaigning at an event in Erie on Friday after he suffered a stroke toward the end of the primary in May. Despite largely recovering at home, Mr Fetterman’s campaign has relentlessly mocked Dr Oz for not actually living in Pennsylvania but rather in neighboring New Jersey.

A poll from Fox News last month showed Mr Fetterman beating Dr Oz by 11 points.

The two candidates are running to fill the seat of retiring Republican Senator Pat Toomey, who was one of seven Republicans who voted to convict former president Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 riot.