Republican who narrowly lost to Dr. Oz expected to run again for Senate

Republican and former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick is expected to announce his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania next week in Pittsburgh, two people familiar with the plans tell ABC News.

Reuters and The Associated Press were first to report the announcement plans. A McCormick spokeswoman declined to comment.

The businessman and former under secretary of the U.S. Treasury, who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate last year, losing in the GOP primary to Dr. Mehmet Oz, has deep pockets and was heavily recruited to run this cycle by state Republican leaders, nearly 100 of whom signed a letter last week urging him to enter the race.

McCormick will be vying for the seat of three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who is running for reelection.

The winner could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, currently held by Democrats 51-49.

Nearly 100 Republicans in Pennsylvania signed a letter this month encouraging McCormick to get back in the race.

He narrowly lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary to celebrity TV Dr. Oz, who was then defeated by incumbent Democrat John Fetterman.

"A combat veteran, job creator, public servant, and true Pennsylvania, we can think of no one better suited to serve the commonwealth in the United States Senate, and urge you to run in 2024," states the letter, which was organized by Allegheny County GOP Chair Sam DeMarco and signed by 98 people, including Lawrence Tabas, the chair of the state party.

DeMarco indicated to ABC News that time was running out for McCormick to decide whether or not to run.

"I would think he is going to have to make a decision very, very soon. I mean, you would think [by] the end of this month," he said.

After the 2022 race, McCormick has continued to maintain a presence on the ground, popping up at local event parties in the area, talking on conservative podcasts and was recently on tour for his new book, "Superpower in Peril: A battle plan to renew America"

McCormick has also gone out to stump for state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who is running for reelection, and Rep. Mike Kelly.

McCormick could face scrutiny over an issue that partially defined Oz's campaign last year: where, exactly, he lives.

While Oz relocated to Pennsylvania, he had lived for more than three decades in New Jersey -- which fueled attacks from Fetterman that he was out of touch with voters.

Recently, McCormick told Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in a podcast appearance, "I live in Pennsylvania." He owns a home in Pittsburgh, according to public records, and was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, outside the city.

But the Associated Press reported last month that according to "real estate listings and footage from recent interviews," McCormick still lived in Connecticut.

State Republican leaders have hit back at the residency reports, with DeMarco calling them "b-------" and Northampton County GOP Chair Glenn Geissinger telling ABC News, "I know Dave McCormick is a Pennsylvanian and I look forward to him denouncing these rumors that he lives in Connecticut."

The spokeswoman for McCormick said in a statement that "Dave has called Pennsylvania home for 30 years and served our country outside of Pennsylvania for an additional 13. It's the place he mailed letters back to when he served in Iraq and the place where three of his daughters were born."

The spokeswoman acknowledged, however, that McCormick "maintains a residence in Connecticut as his daughters finish high school, [but] Dave's home is in Pittsburgh and for the last 10 years he has owned a working farm in his hometown of Bloomsburg, which has been in the family for decades."