Pa. Dem Senate candidate has stroke, will stay in race
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was hospitalized over the weekend after suffering a stroke but vowed to continue his front-running Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate as the primary loomed Tuesday.
The burly No. 2 man in the state government said his wife made him seek treatment on Friday after he wasn’t feeling well.
“The good news is I’m feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage,” Fetterman said. “I’m well on my way to a full recovery.”
Fetterman insisted he expects to win the primary over Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Pa.) and go on to beat any Republican opponent in the fall general election.
But his campaign conceded he would remain in the hospital through Election Day. It said in a statement that his wife, Gisele Fetterman, would stand in for him at an election night event in Braddock, Pa., where he served as mayor.
Fetterman jokingly posted a message from his daughter, Grace, calling him an “amazing father” and referring to the atrial fibrillation, or a-fib, that he says contributed to his condition.
“That’s my Gracie,” he wrote, adding a heart face emoji for emphasis
Fetterman has led recent polls of likely primary voters by a large margin. There’s no way of predicting how or if his stroke might affect the race.
The primary contest was once expected to be close, with Lamb boasting of his proven ability to win over some supporters of former President Trump in his upset 2018 special election win and reelection victories.
But Fetterman’s tough guy liberal persona proved effective and Lamb failed to gain traction as Democrats look for more voices willing to openly confront Republicans.
Kenyatta, a progressive, has strong backing in his native Philadelphia but struggled to win support elsewhere across the sprawling swing state.
The crowded Republican race to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) is much tighter.
TV’s Dr. Oz, who recently moved his official residence to the state, is running neck and neck with hedge fund titan David McCormick and conservative African-American commentator Kathy Barnette and two other major candidates.
Oz boasts Trump’s endorsement. But some of the ex-president’s MAGA faithful say he’s not conservative enough on hot button issues like abortion and transgender rights and has supported wearing masks to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Barnette said Monday that she would not support “globalists” Oz or McCormick if either wins the primary.