HARRISBURG, Pa. - The country is watching Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race as the matchup between Republican Mehmet Oz and Democrat John Fetterman this November will have national consequences.
With the Senate split 50-50 between the two major parties, Democrats hold the narrowest possible majority thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Democrats are hoping they can pad their lead, and the seat of retiring Sen. Pat Toomey, (R-PA) may be their best opportunity. But the battle for the seat has been fierce in this swing state that backed Donald Trump in 2016 before flipping to Joe Biden in 2020.
- The neck-and-neck race to replace outgoing U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey has drawn national attention.
- Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz have turned to bruising attack ads.
- Their only debate will be tonight at 8 p.m.
The Candidates
Lt. Gov. Fetterman entered public life as the mayor of Braddock, a steel mill town outside Pittsburgh. He ran for U.S. Senate in 2016, where his brand of progressive politics and everyman appearance - he is 6’8”, bald, tattooed and usually wears sports shorts and a hoodie - created name recognition. He finished a distant third in that primary, but it elevated his profile enough to help him win the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor in 2018.
Fetterman grew up in an affluent family outside York, and his family financially supported him into his 40s, but he has built his political career advocating for working families. Fetterman and Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed one another in 2016 with Fetterman backing the liberal icon’s full agenda. Fetterman has been a full-throated supporter of legalizing marijuana and expunging the criminal records of nonviolent marijuana offenders. He has called for greater accountability for police officers and also oversaw the Braddock police department which saw crime rates decrease during his tenure.
Days before winning the spring primary, Fetterman suffered a stroke that knocked him off the campaign trail for months. While he has recently resumed media interviews and meeting voters, he has had difficulty with his speech and audio processing skills. During today's Senate debate, Fetterman will use a closed-captioned monitor so he can read words he fails to pick up. Oz and his surrogates have argued that Fetterman’s health makes him unfit for office, but Fetterman insists his language problems are temporary and improving.
Oz was a household name for over a decade before making a foray into national politics. A heart surgeon by trade, he became a regular guest and medical expert on the talk show Oprah. In 2009, he started his own Emmy-winning show that ran until January, when he launched his campaign for Senate. Medical experts have criticized him for allowing scammers and people pushing pseudoscience on his show, introducing them to a national audience.
Oz has built strong ties to former President Donald Trump, a fellow TV personality. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Oz hosted Trump on his show, and the president appointed him to his President's Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition in 2018. Trump endorsed Oz before the Republican primary this year, helping push him over the top in the crowded Republican field.
For most of the summer, Oz found himself going viral for all the wrong reasons. Fetterman’s campaign has depicted him as an out-of-touch carpetbagger, noting he lived in New Jersey for decades until moving into his in-laws’ Montgomery County home a year ago. Most polls find the race tightening, however, as Oz renewed focus on Fetterman’s health and liberal policies.
If he wins the race, Oz would become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate in American history.
The Issues
Abortion
Fetterman supports the proposed Women’s Health Protection Act, which would broaden abortion rights beyond what was previously allowed under Roe v. Wade. The legislation would remove most restrictions and bans, and allow doctors to perform late-term abortions.
Oz describes himself as “100% pro-life” on his website, but his stance has been inconsistent. In a 2019 interview, he defended Roe v. Wade. However, this summer, he compared all abortions to murder and said life begins at conception. He has since backtracked those comments somewhat, saying women and doctors should not face criminal charges for abortions. He said that abortions should be allowed in cases of rape and incest and to protect the life of a mother.
Policing and Criminal Reform
Fetterman has challenged the wisdom of Pennsylvania’s sentencing laws, saying the state incarcerates too many sick and elderly inmates who no longer pose a risk to society. He said he ran for lieutenant governor so he could chair the state’s board of pardons, one of the position’s few official duties. In that role, he has made it easier for inmates to apply for pardons and commutations. He has urged lawmakers to end mandatory life sentences for first- and second-degree murder, saying judges need more nuanced options when handing down punishments on young or addicted convicts.
His campaign employs Dennis and Lee Horton, two brothers who served 27 years in prison on a murder conviction but maintained their innocence at trial and throughout their incarceration. Fetterman lobbied for their release, and Gov. Tom Wolf commuted their life sentences last year. The victim’s family opposed their release, and the Oz campaign has called on Fetterman to end the employment of the two convicted murderers.
Oz has attacked Fetterman as soft on crime, saying the policies he favors have driven up crime in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. He opposes ending cash bail, a policy adopted in many major cities for low-level crimes.
Immigration
Oz and Fetterman have some common ground on immigration, starting with the impact of immigration on their families. Oz is the son of Turkish immigrants, while Fetterman’s wife entered the U.S. illegally as a child while fleeing violence in her native Brazil. Gisele Barreto Fetterman is now a U.S. citizen. Both also call for bolstering security on the border to combat the flow of drugs into the United States.
Fetterman supports modernizing visa and asylum systems as well as creating a pathway to citizenship for people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Meanwhile, Oz has called for crackdowns on sanctuary cities that do not cooperate with federal agencies enforcing immigration law.
