Democrat John Fetterman’s performance in the debate intensified the focus on his recovery from a stroke, leading some supporters to worry that his current post-stroke limitations could affect his narrow lead in the crucial Pennsylvania Senate race against Republican Mehmet Oz.
If Fetterman’s appearance changes the trajectory of the race, the debate could have nationwide ramifications, with Pennsylvania representing the best chance for Democrats to pick up a Senate seat in the evenly divided chamber. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS and released earlier this week found that 51 percent of likely voters support Fetterman, compared to 45 percent for Oz, a lead just outside the poll’s margin of error. And a CBS News poll also released this week found a tight race, with 51 percent of likely voters in Pennsylvania backing Fetterman and 49 percent backing Oz.
Although the results of Fetterman’s stroke dominated some post-debate discussions, Oz’s comments on abortion — saying that “local politicians” should have input into women’s medical decisions — also rocked the boat. Abortion rights are a flashpoint across the country, including the commonwealth, and Oz’s words could hurt him with suburban women voters who both campaigns believe could be key on Election Day.
On Tuesday night and into Wednesday, Fetterman’s campaign did double duty, again explaining the lingering auditory processing and speech problems from May’s stroke that forced him to ask for closed captioning Tuesday night — but ultimately provided only limited help , as he left his thoughts, he pressed words together and, sometimes, repeated phrases. But the campaign also made sure no Pennsylvania voter missed Oz’s comment, announcing within hours of the debate’s end a new ad highlighting them.
At a rally in Pittsburgh Wednesday night, Fetterman admitted, “To be honest, it wasn’t easy at all to have this conversation.”
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy to have a stroke after five months. In fact, I don’t think anything like this has ever happened in American political history,” he said.
To cheers from the crowd, Fetterman announced that his campaign had raised more than $2 million after the debate, which campaign aides say they plan to invest in television ads highlighting Oz’s comments on abortion.
“I may not take every word the right way, but I will always do the right thing in Washington, DC,” Fetterman said.
But as the Fetterman campaign seeks to change the subject to abortion rights, Pennsylvania voters are left to draw their own conclusions about the race’s closing debate.
“Dr. Oz kind of picked him, that’s the way I looked at it,” said Craig Bischoff, a staunch Fetterman supporter from Bedford. “He’s still struggling from his stroke so I thought he did a great job, I really did.”
Asked if he proved he was ready to serve six years in the Senate, he said: “Oh, yes. He is getting healthier every day. He has come a long way. A stroke is hard to overcome.”
That view was not widely shared in lunchtime conversations with half a dozen other residents of Bedford, a Republican-leaning town in central Pennsylvania.
“It was embarrassing,” said Jan Welsch, offering a sharp critique of Fetterman’s performance on the debate stage. “Pennsylvania is in deep trouble if they vote for Fetterman.”
While Welsch said she was unsure about Oz’s candidacy before the debate, she said it showed her he was a serious candidate, not just a former TV celebrity.
“I really liked what Oz had to say,” Welsch said. “I had questions about Oz earlier, but after hearing him against Fetterman, it’s definitely Oz.”
In conversations with CNN, many Fetterman voters said that while his performance had them worried about his prospects with swing voters, they still planned to vote for him. In fact, none of the voters who went into the night planning to vote for the Democrat said they planned to change their vote.
“It was tough,” said Karin Tatela, a Chester County educator who was at the May event Fetterman had to cancel at the last minute because of his stroke. “I told my friend, I said, ‘I don’t really want to watch, it’s like watching a car accident. You want to look, but you don’t want to look.’
Tatela, however, said she still plans to vote for Fetterman.
“I can’t vote for that,” she said, pausing to stop herself from lashing out at Oz. “I would never vote for Oz. I don’t care if they had to wheel Fetterman to the Senate in a hospital bed. But I think we could be in a bit of trouble here.”
She is not alone.
“My opinion of who I’m voting for hasn’t changed, but I feel a little less comfortable with his ability to win the election because of his performance,” said Andrew Charles, a Fetterman supporter who lives and works in Millersville, Pennsylvania. in manufacturing. “I just see a lot of red flags going up for people about its potential.”
Charles, who earlier this year attended a Fetterman event wearing a homemade T-shirt supporting the candidate, said he would still vote for Fetterman, but found himself thinking about swing voters last night.
“If they were on the fence, they’re probably not on the fence anymore,” he concluded, believing those voters will now support Oz.
Joe Pozzini, a union carpenter, said he had no concerns about Fetterman’s health when CNN spoke with him at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, earlier this month. But after the debate, Puccini worried about how the Democrat’s health could affect the race.
“I know how to vote. I’m Fetterman all the way, but it was kind of disconcerting,” said the lifelong Pennsylvanian. “His message is still there, he’s still a strong candidate, I was just kind of worried about people who are on the fence.”
He added: “I think he got his point across, but it was just, it was rough, it was rough, and somebody on the fence might be leaning the other way and that’s worrying.”
Fetterman acknowledged his stroke early in the discussion, seeking to humanize his recovery.
“Let’s also talk about the elephant in the room. I had a stroke. He never let me forget that,” Fetterman said, referring to Oz and his frequent commentary on his recovery campaign. “And I may miss some words during this conversation, put two words together, but it knocked me down and I’ll keep coming back.”
Strong Fetterman supporters, such as Ryan Boyer, the first black leader of the Philadelphia Trades and Construction Board, called the Democrat’s performance a “profile of courage.”
“Especially my people in the African-American community, they know very well that people get strokes. I have an uncle who had one and he’s a very smart guy, but it took him about a year and a half to get all the thoughts in his head out of his mouth,” Boyer said.
He also told CNN that the union’s political arm, in a meeting immediately after the debate, had a “brutally honest” call and discussion about the candidates’ performances.
“To a human, I mean, listen, it was hard to see, but they said they understood him. We asked the question “Did you understand what he was saying?” And that is the most important thing. “Did you understand his feelings?” And yes, it came out,” Boyer said.
Meanwhile, Boyer said Oz’s statement that abortion policies should be left to “women, doctors, local political leaders” surprised him.
“Are they talking about creepy because of Fetterman? It was chilling to hear that (from Oz). But it was a window into his soul,” Boyer added. “That was really amazing… So now I want my district leader to decide something that’s going on with my daughter?”
While Oz refrained from specifically attacking Fetterman’s recovery from the stroke — unlike many of his aides on the campaign trail, who mocked Fetterman’s recovery — the Republican made seemingly mocking comments at the debate.
“John, apparently I wasn’t clear enough for you to understand,” Oz said during the otherwise benign questions about vocational training.
Whether the debate will matter, however, is an open question.
Several Democratic representatives noted that very few undecided voters are watching the debates live, and while some will be watching their local news coverage of the contest, most are not connected to the day-to-day machinations of the Senate race, even less than two weeks to the day. of the elections.
“I thought he would be better, but I don’t think it hurts him,” said Mike Mikus, a Democratic consultant in Pittsburgh who ran Katie McGinty in the Democratic state Senate primary against Fetterman in 2016 before losing to the Republican senator. . Pat Toomey in the general election. “I think people understand that Fetterman had a stroke and it’s affecting his speech. But, they also believe it will improve.”
He added: “At the same time, most voters aren’t very political and probably didn’t watch… The undecideds at this stage of a campaign are completely disengaged.”
Additionally, before the debate, nearly 640,000 primary ballots had already been cast in Pennsylvania, according to data from state elections…
