Dr. Mehmet Oz will launch his bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, he said in a brief video posted to YouTube on Monday. The American doctor, host of The Dr. Oz Show and author of several best-selling books, last week distanced himself from Weight Watchers, just days after the company announced it was splitting into two companies, one of which would include a tie-up with Kroger. After being criticized for appearing on weight-loss programs like Weight Watchers, Dr. Oz said that he and the weight-loss company have “fallen out of touch.” (Oz’s sister, an attorney, is the chief legal officer of Weight Watchers, and he used a line of the company’s advertising products during a segment on his program. Weight Watchers has since stopped taking advertising from the show.)
“So I am announcing to you that my wife Lisa and I are pursuing a campaign for U.S. Senate in Illinois,” he said in the video. “We have a great message for our families, for our friends, for our neighbors. We love this state. We love our children, and we love the opportunities it has to offer.”
A spokesman for Dr. Oz told the Chicago Tribune he “has hired top-tier campaign consultants and advisers” and will formally announce his run for Illinois’ Senate seat in the coming days. The page on the Dr. Oz website referring to the future campaign includes a fundraising appeal, asking for donations for his political action committee.
On Monday, a spokesman for the senator, Republican Mark Kirk, tweeted: “No thanks.”
Read the full story at the Chicago Tribune.
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