FILE – Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during a campaign event at the Steamfitters Technology Center in Harmony, Pa., Oct. 18, 2022. Fetterman is releasing a new doctor’s note saying that he’s recovering well from a May stroke as he vies for Pennsylvania’s pivotal U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
By STEVE PEOPLES and MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new sense of uncertainty has risen over Pennsylvania’s pivotal Senate contest. Democrats are struggling to remain optimistic about John Fetterman’s candidacy after a rocky debate performance. Fetterman took the debate stage Tuesday five months after suffering a stroke. He struggled to complete sentences, and he jumbled words throughout the hourlong event. That was not a surprise for those voters who know him best — Fetterman has never been a smooth orator. But it stirred a fresh sense of anxiety among party leaders and rank-and-file voters. Fetterman’s campaign set up a rally for Wednesday night and released a new advertisement seizing on Oz’s comments that abortion laws should be decided partly by “local political leaders.”