Former President Donald J. Trump triggered a leftist uproar when he called for GOP Senate hopeful Dr. Mehmet Oz to declare victory in the Pennsylvania primary race, words that immediately set off a firestorm from his media adversaries and leftists on Twitter.

The celebrity physician, whose race remained too-close-to-call as of Wednesday is virtually deadlocked with opponent Dave McCormick, a former former hedge fund CEO in the closely watched contest with some counties not yet having tallied mail-in ballots as provisional, overseas and military absentee ballots yet to be counted which may take days.

Despite name recognition and Trump’s campaigning for him, Dr. Oz found himself in a dogfight with McCormick after insurgent conservative candidate Kathy Barnette siphoned off votes from the Turkish-born surgeon, coming in a strong third.