What to Know in Washington: Fetterman-Oz Senate Debate Unfolds
By Brandon Lee and Michaela Ross
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Democratic US Senate candidate John Fetterman’s recovery from a May stroke will be a central focus of his debate Tuesday with Republican rival Mehmet Oz as the two men seek an edge in their battle for a bitterly contested seat in Pennsylvania.
Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, has been deemed fit for office by his primary care doctor, though he sometimes has trouble processing spoken words, an issue that was put on display in recent weeks as he relied on software during an NBC News interview. He will use a similar closed captioning device for the hour-long televised debate in Harrisburg.
He and Oz, the celebrity physician known for his long-running “Dr. Oz” television show, are locked in one of a handful of toss-up races that will determine control of the US Senate. The double-digit polling lead that Fetterman commanded as recently as August has all but vanished under withering attacks from Oz and his allies on the issues of crime and inflation.
Tuesday’s debate takes place amid signs of growing Republican momentum in the final weeks of the Nov. 8 midterm elections as concerns about the economy overwhelm voter angst around the US Supreme Court’s rollback of federal abortion rights, an issue that galvanized Democrats over the summer.
More than 556,000 Pennsylvanians have already cast a mail-in or absentee ballot, according to Department of State data, but the debate could decide the race by swaying undecided voters and those supporting a third-party candidate, said Berwood Yost, director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll. A CNN poll on Monday showed 9% of likely voters and 12% of registered voters said they might change their minds.
Fetterman’s campaign is already trying to temper expectations, citing the challenges associated with his recovery, his past lackluster debate performances before the stroke and Oz’s sheen from hosting a television show for nearly 13 years.
Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan and co-author of “Debating the Donald” about Donald Trump’s 2016 debates, said he doesn’t recall another high-profile debate when a candidate used a closed-captioning device, and there’s a risk of Fetterman losing support if he struggles. Mark Niquette and Gregory Korte preview the matchup.
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Join BGOV’s Final Pre-Election Webinar: Bloomberg Government’s election experts will provide their outlook for the 2022 midterms on a Nov. 1 webinar. They’ll offer their take on the issues driving the battle for control of Congress and the key races to watch in the election’s final week. Register here .
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Around the Administration
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To contact the reporters on this story: Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com; Michaela Ross in Washington at mross@bgov.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Giuseppe Macri at gmacri@bgov.com
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