ERIE, Pennsylvania—In his highly anticipated debate against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was asked to square two conflicting statements: one saying he’s never supported fracking, and another saying he’s always supported fracking.
“Uh, I do support fracking, and, I don’t—I don’t—I support fracking, and I stand, and I do support fracking,” Fetterman said.
As he tried unsuccessfully to square the two opposing sentiments, a debate watch party that’d been largely cheery and jabbing at Oz fell silent.
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Some viewers turned to one another, scrunching up their faces and gritting their teeth. One person in the back even let out a groan.
It clearly wasn’t the sort of answer—or overall debate performance—a room full of Fetterman supporters had hoped for. The fracking moment seemed to neatly capture the lieutenant governor’s speaking vulnerabilities after his stroke in May, as well as his difficulty Tuesday night in combating Oz’s attacks while maneuvering his auditory processing issues with closed captioning.
Fetterman began Tuesday night’s debate—the only debate in the Pennsylvania Senate race—by warning viewers he would have some difficulty answering questions smoothly.
“I might miss some words in this debate, mush two words together,” Fetterman said, repeating what has become a mantra as he recovered from his stroke in May.
That warning was well-heeded, as Fetterman’s deliberate, sometimes muddled answers struggled to keep up with the ticking clock that dictated the length of his and Oz’s responses.
Fetterman’s halted speech stood in stark contrast to the speed at which Oz raced through his answers, sometimes approaching an auctioneer’s pace.
Some of the answers came more naturally to Fetterman, such as an answer on raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. The Democratic hopeful also scored points with the crowd of about two dozen Fetterman supporters in Erie for his answers on health care and zingers hitting Oz on his “10 gigantic mansions.” The crowd at times murmured “bullshit” and called for Oz to shut up during his turns to speak, all while tucked into the Erie County Democratic Party’s office that was plastered inside and out with Fetterman signs.
“Let’s rally the troops,” Jim Wertz, the chair of the Erie County Democrats, told the group ahead of the debate. “Take care of the big man, I’m sure he’ll be just fine tonight.”
But Fetterman’s speaking issues were clearly present throughout the debate, particularly during the fracking question.
Still, Oz’s debate performance wasn’t flawless either.
At one point, he was asked specifically if he would support Sen. Lindsey Graham’s national abortion ban after 15 weeks. Oz said he would leave abortion decisions to states, perhaps suggesting that he would vote no, but at no point did he actually say that. The Erie crowd grumbled—with one onlooker shouting, “YES OR NO!”
One of the moderators sought clarification on the question, and instead of stating his position definitively, Oz just said he had answered the question three times.
A question on whether he misled viewers of his show about the merits of certain unproven medical treatments also appeared to throw Oz, as he seemed to acknowledge that some of his TV doctor advice wasn’t always sound.
"That was a television show, just like this is a television show,” Oz said.
For weeks, the Fetterman campaign has tried to tamp down expectations for the debate, the only one in the hotly contested Senate race scheduled before the November election.
Their rollout started with an interview on NBC News, during which Fetterman used closed captioning to communicate with the reporter. The system, he said, allows him to understand questions quicker because he continues to struggle with auditory processing following his stroke in May.
Then the Fetterman campaign put out an update on his health status, with the candidate’s doctor saying “he’s recovering well from his stroke and his health has continued to improve,” despite lingering issues with auditory processing.
Fetterman’s need for closed captioning for the debate became both a talking point for the GOP and part of the lieutenant governor’s strategy to lower expectations heading into the big night.
Finally on Monday, the day before the debate, the Fetterman campaign sent out a memo to reporters arguing Oz has a “huge built-in advantage” from his decades as a TV celebrity.
“We’ll admit—this isn’t John’s format,” the campaign said in a memo to reporters. “Look no further than the debates from the primary earlier this year.”
In April, Fetterman delivered largely flat performances in the televised debates against Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, both of whom had more polished rhetorical flourishes at their disposal.
The Fetterman campaign also recently released an ad where the candidate addresses his stroke, tying his recovery to access to health care and family leave.
“He’s honest. He’s said he’s not a good public speaker on camera,” said Jasmine Flores, a member of the Erie City Council.
The Oz campaign pushed for seven debates with Fetterman, but the candidates only agreed to one. Fetterman’s reluctance to debate became a frequent talking point for Oz.
Oz also raised the expectations for his debate performance by hyping up the occasion on a Monday night interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, following his pattern of taking interviews largely from friendly outlets and avoiding media availability at his events, which often are not made public beforehand.
Despite a sputtering start to the race and an initially fractured GOP base, the Oz campaign has slowly picked up more support from undecided voters through September and into October, closing a roughly 10 point gap down to an average deficit of just 2.3 points, according to FiveThirtyEight. The RealCelarPolitics average had Fetterman up by only 1.3 points heading into the debate.
Early voting has already started in Pennsylvania, with voters also able to request an absentee ballot and make their choice as soon as they like.
Bill Tarbell, an Erie resident in attendance at the watch party, said he thought Oz dodged too much, telling The Daily Beast, “I don’t think he answered any questions.” But Tarbell also admitted it was evident Fetterman struggled at times “because of his disability.”
“Fetterman did as good as he could,” he said.
Jackie Kucinich contributed to this report.
