HARRISBURG (TNS) — Mehmet Oz, a Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Senate candidate, debuted a new Trumpian confidence inspired by the former president’s endorsement, as five candidates tried to set themselves apart as the “most Pennsylvanian” candidate in Monday’s debate for the GOP nomination.

The two GOP front-runners — Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and former daytime TV host, and David McCormick, the former CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund — traded attacks from a debate stage in Harrisburg alongside three of their opponents.

Oz mentioned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement multiple times during Monday’s televised, multimarket debate. His opponents attacked him the most of any of the other candidates, and he also picked up a common strategy from Trump — choosing a catchy, alliterative nickname — by calling McCormick “Dishonest Dave.”

”President Trump saw right through him and that’s why he did not endorse [Mr. McCormick],” Oz said.

McCormick, in response, said Oz only received the former president’s endorsement because he was a weak candidate without it.

”He can’t run on his own positions and records,” McCormick said. “What’s true is that he has flip-flopped on every major issue.”

Oz also acknowledged his long history living outside the state during Monday’s debate.

”Pennsylvanians care about what I stand for more than where I’m from,” said Oz, who grew up in Delaware and lived most of his adult life in New Jersey.

Other candidates included Carla Sands, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark under Trump; conservative political commentator Kathy Barnette; and former lieutenant governor candidate and business owner Jeff Bartos.

McCormick and Sands both tried to out-Pennsylvania one another — with Sands claiming her family had been in the state for eight generations, while McCormick said his family has lived here for seven. All of the candidates recognized that Bartos had lived in the state longer than them.

”There’s no one else in this race that’s more Pennsylvanian,” claimed Sands, who sold her homes in California before announcing her run for Senate in Pennsylvania.

McCormick and Oz have each spent millions of dollars attacking one another through TV ads since the start of this year. Just in the hour before Monday’s debate, at least six attack ads by McCormick or Oz aired. The ads have become a part of daily life for Pennsylvanians across the state, as the millionaire candidates try to paint one another as frauds.

DEMOCRATS DEBATE

In a debate packed wall-to-wall with substantial policy discussions and clear, defined contrasts between the Democratic contenders for U.S. Senate, there was a moment that brought to light the key points of contention in this race, which took shape in form of a question:

If you could ask one of your opponents one thing, what would it be?

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta again brought up what’s become a focal point in the race in recent weeks by asking Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the frontrunner, if he would apologize for an incident in 2013 in Braddock when he, as mayor, pursued and pulled a shotgun on a man because he believed he may have been involved in a shooting.

The man turned out to be an unarmed Black jogger who was not involved in a shooting.

After Kenyatta accused him of trying to duck from accountability, Fetterman repeated the defense he’s previously given: that the incident didn’t happen the way his opponents described and that he was successful, as mayor, in stopping gun violence for a stretch of five and a half years.

At a recent debate, Fetterman said he heard a “burst” of gunfire and intercepted the only individual running from where the gunfire came.

Kenyatta noted that the man in question claimed Fetterman aimed the shotgun at his chest. Fetterman said he did not point the gun at the man’s chest, and that the residents of Braddock — re-electing him twice more — knew that “protection of my community was always in my heart” when they consider the incident in question.

U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who’s framed his candidacy as an effective means for Democrats to reach swing voters, asked Fetterman if he supports Medicare for All — claiming that the types of swing voters the party needs in order to win in November don’t like “chaos” and “instability” and are concerned about the national debt and inflation.

Fetterman responded that he supports health care as a “basic fundamental human right,” and that whichever vehicle gets Americans there — be it Medicare for All, or the Affordable Care Act or a public option — he’ll champion in the Senate.

“He’s allergic to answering the question. It’s unbelievable,” Lamb said.

Fetterman directed his question to Lamb and probed how the congressman feels about West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, the conservative Democrat who is blamed by party stalwarts for stalling key pieces of President Joe Biden’s agenda. One Joe Manchin in the Senate is “enough,” Fetterman said.

Manchin endorsed Lamb’s 2020 congressional run, according to Reuters. Politico reported that Lamb held a fundraiser with the senator at some point before launching his bid for the chamber.

Lamb said as a congressman, he held fundraisers with numerous senators and legislators, including Manchin, but as a Senate candidate he has not done so with Manchin. He urged voters to look at his record in Congress, noting that he’s voted for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, the Women’s Health Protection Act and Build Back Better and for a $15 minimum wage, all things Manchin opposes.