Trump urges 'Dr Oz' to declare victory in cliffhanger Senate vote

Former President Donald Trump has urged celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz to declare victory in Tuesday's too-close-to-call Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary, even as votes show his lead narrowing.

With over 95% of votes counted, Dr Oz leads with 31.2% of the vote, compared to 31.1% for challenger Dave McCormick.

State law says a recount must be held if a candidate's margin of victory is under 0.5%.

Thousands of mail-in ballots must still be counted.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump took to Truth Social - his new social media platform - to cast doubt on the election and claim that Dr Oz, a surgeon best known for his appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show, had won.

He compared the state's counting of mail-in ballots to the 2020 election, which he continues to insist he won.

"Here we go again," Mr Trump said of the primary. "In Pennsylvania, they are unable to count the mail-in ballots. It is a big mess."

In another post, he urged Mr Oz, whom he has endorsed, to "declare victory".

"It just makes it harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they 'just happened to find'," he wrote, providing no evidence to back up his claims.

In Lancaster County, a ballot print error meant that thousands of mail-in ballots had to be reprocessed.

The race between Mr Oz and Mr McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, will determine who will run as the next Republican senator for Pennsylvania in the forthcoming mid-term elections.