Mehmet Oz is vying to win a Senate seat in Pennsylvania and he has supported the oil and gas industry.
According to financial records reviewed by CNBC, the former TV personality has received donations from the energy business for many years. Oz's financial disclosures show that he has a personal stake in oil and gas.
Pennsylvania has a large presence in the energy industry and it will be important for the next senator to vote in that direction. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Pennsylvania is the second largest natural gas producer in the country.
The energy industry was supported by Oz this year. He criticized the president after he called on companies that run gas stations to bring down prices.
The energy companies are being blamed for the gas prices. Like most Americans, I'm wondering what you're talking about. Oz said in a July interview that he did things that made it impossible for the companies to exist. He said Biden's comments were "class warfare".
Both Oz's campaign and personal funds have benefited from the oil and gas industry.
Oz, a veteran physician and television host, is running against John Fetterman for a Senate seat. According to Real ClearPolitics, Oz is trailing Fetterman by 8 percentage points in recent polls. According to data from the nonpartisan Open Secrets, Fetterman's campaign has raised over $25 million, while Oz and his team have brought in just over $18 million.
According to their financial disclosure report, Oz and his wife, Lisa, have a financial stake in the industry that Oz has championed. The filing shows that the couple has shares in the oil company. The stock in Pioneer is worth between $1,000 and $15,000.
Oz had connections to the industry before he became a politician.
According to the group's annual financial reports, Continental Resources has given at least $210,000 to HealthCorps in the last two years. The founder and chairman of Continental Resources endorsed Oz for Senate in a video.
Energy industry leaders have contributed to Oz's campaign.
A CNBC review shows that over a dozen oil and gas industry leaders have contributed over $200,000 to Oz's campaign since he announced his run for Senate late last year. The chairman of the board of Pilot Company, a business that owns fueling stations across the country, is one of the people who have given at least $2,900 to Oz. His father is the founder of the Pilot Company.
Brad Cox, the chairman of Cox Operating, and the president of Silcor Oilfield Services are two of the top energy donors to the Oz campaign.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam gave $50,000 to American Leadership Action.
Jimmy and Dee said in a statement that they have a lot of respect for Dr. Oz and that he wants to serve his country in the US Senate. According to Forbes, the family's net worth was $6 billion.
Representatives for Cox didn't return calls.
In a statement, he said he considers Oz a friend. He said that the two have known each other for a long time and were trying to bring HealthCorps services into Oklahoma schools.
The oil billionaire said that Oz will be a key advocate for the energy sector. According to Forbes, Harold and his family have a net worth of $21 billion.
He said that Dr. Oz will champion American energy in the US Senate.
The reports give a range of how much donors gave to HealthCorps. Continental Resources was one of the Oz group's top funders. The company usually donates between $50,000 and $99,999. According to a HealthCorps filing, Continental Resources gave it between $10,000 and $25,000.
Continental Resources is listed as either a national or a community sponsor in HealthCorps' previous filings. National sponsors give $1 million and community donors give $250,000, according to the group's website. The disclosures before 2016 don't show a lot of how much Continental Resources gave.
Oz's support from the energy industry coincides with an apparent shift in his opinion on the practice of frack, which allows companies to drill deep into the earth for oil and gas resources Critics say that the practice hurts the environment by hurting water supplies and the air.
Vice reported that before Oz ran for Senate, he wrote columns that took aim at the oil and gas industry.
According to Oz, there are multiple reports of air and water pollution in Pennsylvania, which may be caused by the practice of frack.
According to Brittany Yanick, a spokeswoman for the Oz campaign, the candidate still supports the drilling method and has not changed his mind. Fetterman's stance on the issue was taken aim at by her.
According to Yanick, Dr. Oz understands that the Biden administration is ignoring the science and the benefits of natural gas in order to appease the radical Left. John Fetterman would be a rubber stamp for the failed Biden Agenda if he were elected.
Fetterman has differing opinions on the subject. Fetterman dropped his support for a moratorium after he lost his Senate primary. He changed his position after the state moved to harsher regulations.
A spokeswoman for Fetterman told CNBC that John does not support a ban on the practice in Pennsylvania. He hasn't taken any campaign money from the fossil fuel industry.
The union way of life for thousands of workers in the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania and the communities where they live needs to be preserved, according to John. "We can't just abandon these people, and tell them to learn how to code." We have to decide between jobs and a clean environment. It isn't true. We are able to have both.
Oz supports the oil and gas industry more than Fetterman. Fetterman wrote an op-ed that said it was "gross and deeply unpatriotic" for oil companies to charge high gas prices. Fetterman named the three oil companies in the op-ed.
During his campaign, Oz has gotten along well with industry officials.
He was invited to a meeting by a lobbyist. The meeting was going to take place in Washington, according to the invitation. Southern Company is one of her current clients, according to Open Secrets.
A GM spokeswoman said she was not sure if the company had a representative at the event. The representative for Southern Company did not reply to questions.
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