Fetterman shuts down Oz in Pennsylvania Senate performance
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has defeated Republican nominee Mehmet Oz, who is currently flipping the seat assigned to Democratic hands to GOP Sen.
Fetterman’s victory is a significant victory for the Democrats, who potentially represent their only Senate pick-up cycle. With Democratic incumbents facing a tough race in other battleground states, winning Pennsylvania is expected to keep the party’s hopes up for the next two years, leaving no room for a 50-50 majority.
After the race closed, Fetterman told supporters, “I’m very humble.” “We held the line. I never thought we’d turn these red counties blue, but we did what we had to do.”
Pennsylvania was seen by both sides as the front line for their strategies to win the Chamber. Although Oz was spent and ousted by Fetterman, the Senate race topped the cycle because it was the most expensive race ever. (Georgia’s race could still eventually claim the title if it gets past the December runoff.)
Fetterman defeated Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa) in his party’s primary, a victory for the Progressives. And he led in the polls against Oz for much of the year, but the race entered nailbiter territory in the final weeks as Oz closed a heavily spent gap against him due to GOP groups’ Calvary.
Fetterman’s campaign took a multidisciplinary approach to trying to defeat Oz, portraying the wealthy celebrity doctor as out-of-touch and following the National Democrats in his longtime New Jersey residence. I stayed at home. Tried using the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade Reversal. Throw light on Oz’s position on abortion.
Meanwhile, Oz and his allies focus the final part of the campaign on crime—it reflects a message that the party is ready to run for Congress across the country. An ad for MAGA Inc., a super pack set up by Donald Trump allies, accused Fetterman of “bringing ruthless murderers, robbers and rapists back to our streets.”
In a sign of the times, his campaign often played out online in a war of memes, among them a viral video of Oz wandering through a grocery store to buy ingredients for crudité. (Oz later called it a joke.)
But the Democrat’s campaign was thrown a curveball when Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, returned to the mark in August. Soon after, Oz’s campaign made an issue with Fetterman’s diet, accusing him of being unable to argue.
Oz appeared to distance himself from the attacks, telling NBC News that he would not use that rhetoric about a patient. And Fetterman tried to allay public concerns about his health, releasing an advertisement and medical report on the issue.
The two eventually held their first and only debate on October 25, where Fetterman stumbled across a series of questions that some Democrats won.
In his victory speech, Fetterman reiterated a line he had posted over the past two weeks in response to questions about his debate performance.
“This campaign has always been about fighting for all those who have been thrown down,” he said with thunderous applause.
Pennsylvania was one of six open seats Republicans were playing the defense this year as minority leader Mitch McConnell watched his members and some of his most trusted aides walk out.
