Lt. gov.: Stroke won’t end bid for Senate
In hospital, Democratic front-runner says he’ll be back on trail soon
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, said he had a stroke on Friday and remains in the hospital.
Fetterman said he hadn’t been feeling well and ignored symptoms but his wife, Gisele, insisted he go to the hospital.
“Gisele insisted, and as usual, she was right. I hadn’t been feeling well, but was so focused on the campaign that I ignored the signs and just kept going,” he said. “On Friday it finally caught up with me.”
Fetterman said the stroke was caused by his heart being in atrial fibrillation and throwing a clot that went to his brain. Doctors at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital were able to remove the clot and reverse the stroke, he said. They also got his heart rhythm under control.
“The good news is I’m feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage,” the statement said. “I’m well on my way to a full recovery. So I have a lot to be thankful for. They’re keeping me here for now for observation, but I should be out of here sometime soon.”
Fetterman said doctors told him he will be able to return to the campaign trail after resting.
“But our campaign isn’t slowing down one bit, and we are still on track to win this primary on Tuesday, and flip this Senate seat in November. Thanks for all the support, and please get out there and vote.”
Fetterman is one of four Democrats and seven Republicans facing off Tuesday in the contest to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey.
One of his Democratic opponents, state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, wished Fetterman well on Twitter.
“As I said at the first debate, John Fetterman is an incredible family man,” he wrote. “My prayers are with him and his family as he recovers from this stroke. I look forward to seeing him back on the campaign trail
soon.
State Rep. Conor Lamb, another Democratic contender, was being interviewed live on CNN when he heard the news.
“Hayley and I are keeping John and his family in our prayers and wishing him a full and speedy recovery,” Lamb tweeted.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the race’s crowded Republican field, said he and his family are praying for Fetterman’s speedy recovery. Oz, a cardiac surgeon who has treated patients with atrial fibrillation, said he has “witnessed the miracles of modern medicine in the treatment of strokes, so I am thankful that you received care so quickly.”
The 52-year-old Fetterman, who confirmed that he had been hospitalized all weekend, insisted the health emergency wasn’t slowing his campaign. But the stunning revelation, two days before Pennsylvania’s primary, created a cloud of uncertainty over the Democratic front-runner’s candidacy in what may be one of the party’s best Senate pickup opportunities.
“Feeling good, all things considered,” Fetterman said in a text message to Associated Press.
Questions about Fetterman’s health swirled throughout the weekend after he canceled scheduled public appearances Friday, Saturday and Sunday. His campaign cited a health issue but was not specific until Sunday.
Democrats see the race to replace Pennsylvania’s retiring Republican Toomey as one of their best opportunities pick up a Senate seat this fall.
Thousands of early votes have already been cast.
Fetterman is the strong Democratic favorite. He has led in polls and fundraising from the start, even as the party’s establishment rallied around Lamb. Despite such support, Lamb struggled to reach voters or even pierce Fetterman’s standing with primary voters.
Lamb tweeted that he was conducting a television interview when he learned of Fetterman’s stroke.
Fetterman’s heart condition, atrial fibrillation, occurs when the heart’s top chambers, called the atria, get out of sync with the bottom chambers’ pumping action. Sometimes patients feel a flutter or a racing heart, but many times they’re not aware of an episode.
A-fib is most common in older adults, and other risks include high blood pressure or a family history of arrhythmias. It causes 130,000 deaths and 750,000 hospitalizations a year in the U.S.
Fetterman, who is 6-foot-8, has been open about his push to lose weight in the past. He weighed in at over 400 pounds before losing nearly 150 pounds in 2018.
His imposing stature has been a big part of his political appeal.
The former western Pennsylvania mayor has tattoos down his arms, a clean-shaven head and a goatee. He curses on social media and wears shorts practically everywhere, even in the winter.