Pennsylvania Senate candidates John Fetterman and Mehmet Oz squared off Tuesday night in their race’s first and only debate, a bruising encounter shaped in part by the Democrat’s lingering communication difficulties following a stroke.
The event came exactly two weeks before an election in the pivotal contest, which could determine the partisan tilt of the U.S. Senate.
Though Fetterman held a sizable polling lead over his GOP rival through the summer, Oz has been whittling away at this advantage as Election Day approaches, and recent surveys have suggested the candidates are now neck-and-neck.
The hour-long debate, which took place at the abc27 studio in Harrisburg, covered topics including crime, the economy and abortion and gave voters the opportunity to evaluate Fetterman’s recovery from the life-threatening stroke he suffered earlier this year.
Oz has been pressing for more debates — a setting in which even Fetterman’s team acknowledges the Republican, a former TV talk show host, has an inherent advantage. Fetterman only agreed to the Tuesday night event, which was broadcast across the state and streamed on about a dozen websites.
Fetterman acknowledged his stroke was the “elephant in the room”
In a memo sent to reporters Monday, Fetterman’s campaign advisers admitted “this isn’t John’s format,” and all the more because the candidate in May experienced a stroke that has affected his communication.
The Democrat’s lingering auditory processing issues mean he sometimes misses a word as it’s spoken to him or stumbles as he’s talking, but his campaign has released a physician’s letter stating the candidate is not showing signs of cognitive impairment and is ready for public office.
During the debate, Fetterman used closed captioning so he could read questions back before responding, technology he’s also employed in media interviews conducted since his medical emergency.
John Fetterman stroke recovery:New medical report says U.S. Senatorial candidate has ‘no work restrictions’
Fetterman remarked at the debate’s outset that his stroke was an “elephant in the room” and said he would likely miss words or “mush two words together” during the event. In the ensuing hour, his verbal stumbles ranged from being noticeable in some answers to obscuring his meaning in others.
For example, when he was asked about whether he supports expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, Fetterman said he did not but struggled as he tried to explain why.
“I do not believe in supporting the Supreme Court,” he said.
At another point he was asked to explain his shifting position on fracking. He said “I do support fracking and, I don’t, I don’t, I support fracking, and I stand, and I do support fracking.”
However, the Democrat tried to present his medical difficulties as a point of connection between him and his audience.
“It knocked me down, but I’m gonna keep coming back up,” he said of the stroke. “And this campaign is all about, to me, is about fighting for everyone in Pennsylvania that ever got knocked down that needs to get back up.”
Oz still won’t give yes-no answer on national abortion ban
Oz has danced around the question of whether he’d support or oppose the national 15-week abortion ban introduced by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, answering only by saying he’s “pro-life” but believes the procedure should be regulated at a state level.
On Tuesday, he continued to avoid giving a yes-or-no answer on the bill, even when repeatedly pressed by the moderators.
“I’ll give you a bigger answer,” he said. “I am not going to support federal rules that block the ability of states to do what they wish to do.”
Fetterman, on the other hand, said he would fight to reestablish the standard set forth in Roe vs. Wade, which held that women have a constitutional right to an abortion. He also said he’d support setting aside federal dollars to help women in areas where abortion is banned travel across state lines to access the procedure.
The candidates clashed over crime and public safety
Oz has elevated crime as an election issue. In particular, the GOP candidate has attacked Fetterman for being soft on crime, citing the Democrat’s work as Pennsylvania lieutenant governor on the state’s board of pardons and his time as mayor of Braddock, a small borough near Pittsburgh.
But Fetterman on Tuesday defended himself against those accusations — and asserted Oz is all talk on the subject of public safety.
“I’m the only person on this stage right now that is successful about pushing back against gun violence,” he said, pointing out that Braddock went five years without a homicide during his time as mayor.
Oz responded by noting that he won the endorsement of the police union for Allegheny County, which encompasses Braddock.
The Republican also pushed Fetterman to apologize for pulling a gun on an unarmed Black jogger in 2013, when the Democrat was Braddock’s mayor. Fetterman has said he was unaware of the man’s race at the time and stopped the runner because he thought he’d heard gunshots in the area.
Fetterman didn’t apologize for the incident on Tuesday, saying he was acting as Braddock’s “chief law enforcement officer” at the time and that residents of the majority-Black town understood his actions.
“Nobody believes that it was anything [but] me making a split-second decision to defend our community,” he said.
Oz and Fetterman shared sharply different visions for the economy
Fetterman’s plan for supporting working families centers on combating corporate greed and price gouging — and on raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Pennsylvania’s baseline wage is currently $7.25 per hour, a rate that lags behind surrounding states and that Fetterman condemned as a “disgrace.”
“That’s the most American bargain, that if you work full time, you should be able to live in dignity,” Fetterman said.
Fracking in PA:Fetterman and Oz have at least one thing in common to critics: They’ve waffled on fracking
But Oz argued that the government should allow market forces to drive up the minimum wage and said a federal mandate would ultimately harm workers by putting employers out of business.
Instead, he contends the recipe for economic prosperity lies in supporting natural gas extraction in Pennsylvania.
“I believe if we can unleash the energy beneath our feet here in Pennsylvania, there’d be plenty of money to go around,” he said.
Not only would expanding the industry lead to increased wages, Oz asserted, but it would also strengthen the overall economy and lower inflation.
Both Fetterman and Oz claimed during the debate that they have consistently supported fracking, even though they’ve both been criticized for waffling on the issue.
Years ago, Oz co-authored columns that decried the detrimental health impacts of fracking sites, and Fetterman once said he would oppose natural gas drilling until Pennsylvania passes stricter regulations and imposes an excise tax on the industry.
While the state has strengthened its fracking rules, it has not instituted such a tax.
Oz deflects question about investigations involving Trump
When asked what he thinks about legal inquiries relating to the former president, Oz responded that he hasn’t been paying much attention to them.
“I’ve been campaigning pretty aggressively,” the candidate said, adding that the legal issues would “work themselves out” and that he had “tremendous confidence in the American legal system.”
Election 2022:What’s on voters’ minds? Pa. folks talk inflation, abortion & ‘salespeople’ politicians
The Republican also said he would support Trump if he decides to mount a presidential run in 2024.
For his part, Fetterman said he’d support Biden if the incumbent president decides to pursue re-election. When asked what he thinks about the president’s job performance, Fetterman said he thinks Biden should do more to control inflation but is a “good family man” who “stands for the union way of life.”
