Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman committed Wednesday to a single debate with his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. The announcement came after weeks of mounting pressure from Oz’s campaign, which questioned whether Fetterman was using his recent stroke as an excuse to avoid a public confrontation. Fetterman “is sane and avoids the debate because he doesn’t want to answer for his radical left-wing positions or is too sick to engage in the debate,” Oz, a celebrity doctor endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said in a press release. conference on Tuesday. In a statement Wednesday, Fetterman responded, “We will certainly discuss Dr. Oz, and it has always been our intention to do so.” “It’s only ever been about addressing some of the persistent issues of my brain, auditory processing, and we’re going to be able to work that out,” Fetterman’s statement said. The Democratic lieutenant governor added that the debate will be held “sometime in mid-to-late October — as each of the previous two Pennsylvania Senate races has been — on a major television station to reach voters across the Commonwealth.” Details are still being finalized, Fetterman said. “But let’s be clear it was never about Dr. Oz discussions,” he added. “This whole thing is about Dr. Oz and his team making fun of me for having a stroke because they have nothing else.” Politico first reported Fetterman’s announcement in an interview earlier Wednesday. Fetterman’s campaign last month declined to participate in an early September debate against Oz, accusing the Republican’s campaign of mocking his status as a stroke survivor and acting in bad faith after releasing a statement offering to “pay for any additional medical personnel may need to be on standby.” Fetterman said in a statement at the time that he was “eager” to talk with Oz, adding, “as I recover from this stroke and improve my auditory processing and speech, I look forward to continuing to meet with the people of Pennsylvania.” . Fetterman said he “almost died” after suffering a stroke in May, days before he won the Democratic nomination to run for the Pennsylvania Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. The key swing state Senate seat offers a major pickup opportunity for both parties, as Democrats struggle to hold on to their slim Senate majority and Republicans push to take control of the chamber. The stroke kept Fetterman off the campaign trail for three months. But race polls show him ahead of Oz, who has been dogged by attacks that paint him as an elitist with a stronger connection to New Jersey than Pennsylvania. Fetterman last month held his first public rally since the stroke and has given just four interviews with media organizations, including Politico. The agency said Fetterman “sometimes lost words while speaking” during the 17-minute conference call, but “spoke at a normal pace” and discussed a range of issues. “He did not ask to see the questions in advance,” Politico reported.
