The debate performance on Tuesday night by Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Pennsylvania, left party officials newly anxious, ...
Mr. Fetterman spent much of the summer off the campaign trail, returning in mid-August for [a rally](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/politics/fetterman-oz-senate-pennsylvania.html) in Erie, Pa. If Mr. [a statement](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/us/politics/john-fetterman-heart-condition.html) in early June, his cardiologist said he also had a serious heart condition called cardiomyopathy. [closely watched debates](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/25/us/politics/fetterman-oz-debate-senate-pa.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-2022-midterms&variant=show®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc)of the midterm campaign. During the debate, Mr. Now they are looking to run up the score by [vying for seats in deep-blue states](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/25/us/politics/blue-states-midterm-landscape.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-2022-midterms&variant=show®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_1&block=storyline_top_links_recirc). Earlier in the race, the Oz campaign mocked Mr. Republicans, looking to capitalize on the debate, highlighted a moment when Mr. Oz that abortion decisions should be up to “women, doctors, local political leaders.” Those involved with the Fetterman campaign said they had made the right decision in going forward with the debate, arguing that it had given them a politically damaging moment for Dr. “I was nervous before the debate began, and I’m still nervous,” said Ed Rendell, a Democratic former governor of Pennsylvania, who added that the format — with 60-second answers and 15- and 30-second rebuttals — made it more difficult for Mr. Fetterman seemed to pause to seek the right words or offered a jumble of sentences to express his positions.
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, and former TV doctor Mehmet Oz, a Republican, faced off last night in the only debate in a tight race that will help ...
When asked about his previous statements by one of the moderators, Fetterman paused, waiting for the closed captions to load on the screen, and stumbled through his response, simply saying, "I do support fracking. Lindsey Graham's bill to ban abortion nationally after 15 weeks of pregnancy, except in the cases of rape, incest and to protect the life of the woman. The Senate race has also been the most expensive; outside groups have spent more than $130 million on the race, the most spent on any other race this cycle, according to [Open Secrets](https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/10/outside-groups-have-spent-130-9-million-in-contentious-u-s-senate-general-race-in-pennsylvania-more-money-than-any-other-this-election-cycle/), which tracks money in politics. By Wednesday morning, Fetterman's campaign was already running ads tying Oz's position on abortion to right-wing Republican candidate for governor, Doug Mastriano, who supports absolutely no exceptions in an abortion ban. [stroke](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2022/10/26/pennsylvania-senate-debate) he suffered in May, Fetterman had video monitors in the studio with live transcription of what was being said. Mehmet Oz, a former TV doctor, faced off Tuesday night in the [only formal debate](https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124218284/this-midterm-season-the-role-of-the-debate-has-changed) of the race. "I don't want the federal government involved with that at all." "It's clear that the people of Pennsylvania have John's back in this race. [Senate candidates](https://www.npr.org/2022/10/24/1131179872/dem-john-fetterman-and-rep-dr-mehmet-oz-face-off-in-their-first-debate) John Fetterman, the Democratic Lt. [suburban voters](https://www.npr.org/2022/10/26/1131536137/candidates-for-pennsylvanias-u-s-senate-seat-traded-barbs-in-a-formal-setting) in the state who are more moderate and independent — despite the fact that he has said he is "100% pro-life." "Roe v. His doctor has said the former mayor of Braddock, Pa.