Lt. Gov. John Fetterman won Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary Tuesday night, defeating Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta ending a lengthy intra-party battle, according to the Associated Press.
Fetterman, who’s been considered the race’s frontrunner for weeks, will now face the Republican nominee, who has not yet been called, in November.
He won despite a sudden health scare this past weekend. On Sunday, Fetterman announced he’d suffered a stroke, was hospitalized and “feeling much better” with no cognitive damage, according to a statement Sunday.
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“Our campaign isn’t slowing down one bit, and we are still on track to win this primary on Tuesday, and flip this Senate seat in November,” he wrote in a statement.
On Tuesday, just hours before the election, he underwent surgery for implantation of a pacemaker with a defibrillator.
Pennsylvania is expected to be one of the most expensive Senate races nationwide this year as Democrats hope to flip retiring Sen. Pat Toomey’s (R) seat. Republicans are equally invested—with Pennsylvania being considered one of their best chances at taking back the Senate majority.
Fetterman came into the political arena as the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, a crumbling steel town, in the late 2000s. He further rose to national prominence during his unsuccessful 2016 bid for Senate and successful lieutenant governor run in 2018, alongside now Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D). His platform prioritizes progressive policies like a $15 minimum wage, marijuana legalization, abolishing the filibuster and enacting “universal health care.”
But Fetterman has shied away from outright labeling himself as a progressive - rejecting ideas like “defund the police“ and certain aspects of the Green New Deal. Instead, Fetterman has described himself as a populist.
