Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz will meet Tuesday night for their only debate two weeks before the midterm elections in a high-stakes Senate race in Pennsylvania that could decide which political party controls the upper chamber of Congress.
Much of the focus will be on Fetterman’s fitness for office after the Keystone State’s lieutenant governor suffered a stroke in May that kept him away from the campaign for most of the summer and has left him struggling at times to speak in public appearances.
Fetterman will use a closed-captioning monitor to read the questions posed by the moderators at the hour-long debate, which will begin at 8 p.m.
Fetterman used a similar setup during a controversial interview with NBC News earlier this month that Oz said raised questions about whether the Democrat is fit to carry out the duties of a senator.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican, will debate Democrat John Fetterman Tuesday night in Harrisburg, Pa. AP
Democrat John Fetterman will face Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in their first and only debate Tuesday in Harrisburg, Pa. AFP via Getty Images“I don’t think there’s closed captioning on the floor of the Senate, and maybe he doesn’t need closed captioning when he’s actually moving around,” Oz said in an interview with Fox News.
Last week, Fetterman’s campaign released a note from his doctor claiming Fetterman has “no work restrictions” and “can work full duty in public office.”
But it failed to disclose that Dr. Clifford Chen, who penned the letter, had donated to Fetterman’s campaign on at least four separate occasions.
The two campaigns have squabbled over the number of debates, their format and their length for the past month, with Oz pushing for as many as seven showdowns and Fetterman’s camp claiming that the longtime TV doctor is trying to exploit their candidate’s medical condition.
Fetterman’s campaign began lowering expectations for his performance in Harrisburg on Monday, issuing a memo warning media members to expect “awkward pauses” and occasional misunderstandings.
“Let’s be clear about this match-up: Dr. Oz has been a professional TV personality for the last two decades,” the memo read.
The Fetterman camp added that Oz “clearly comes into Tuesday night with a huge built-in advantage,” noting that he has filmed more than 2,000 episodes of “The Dr. Oz Show” since 2009.”
Oz, portrayed by Fetterman as a carpetbagger from New Jersey who is clueless about the needs of Pennsylvanians, has managed to surge in the polls by hammering the twin issues of a slumping economy and rising crime in the state — in addition to raising concern about Fetterman’s health.
The latest RealClearPolitics polling average showed Fetterman leading Oz by just 1.3 percentage points, down from a high spread of 8.7 percentage points in mid-August.
