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Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz  shake hands prior to the Nexstar Pennsylvania Senate at WHTM abc27 in Harrisburg, Pa., on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.
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John Fetterman addresses debate performance, fracking disconnect in CNN interview

Greg Nash/The Hill/Nexstar

John Fetterman addresses debate performance, fracking disconnect in CNN interview

Pennsylvania Democratic Senate hopeful John Fetterman anticipated that his debate against Republican Mehmet Oz "wasn't going to be easy" following a stroke earlier this year but "thought it was important that I show up," he told CNN's Don Lemon in an interview that aired Tuesday on "CNN This Morning."

Mr. Fetterman's first and only debate against Mr. Oz intensified the focus on the Democrat's recovery from the near-fatal stroke he suffered in May. Fetterman's delivery during the contest was at times halting and repetitive, with the candidate dropping words during answers and occasionally losing his train of thought. The interview with CNN, like during the debate, was conducted with closed captioning technology.

"I just always understood that it wasn't going to be easy. I am five months into recovery from that, but I thought it was important that I show up and I did it. And at the end of the day, we did, I think, make some important points." Fetterman said, noting that the debate also gave the Democratic campaign the opportunity to highlight Mr. Oz saying "local political leaders" should be involved with women and their doctors when making decisions about abortion.

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Mr. Fetterman added that he and his doctors believe he is going to "continue to get and feel better and better."

Former President Barack Obama, center, celebrates at a campaign stop with Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, left, and U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes in Milwaukee on Oct. 29. The former president has been campaigning for Democratic candidates all over the country and will be in Pittsburgh on Nov. 5.
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Mr. Fetterman's race against Mr. Oz represents Democrats’ best chance to flip a Senate seat in 2022. Polls have shown the Democrat with a narrow lead, including a survey from the New York Times and Siena College released on Monday that found Mr. Fetterman with 49% support to Mr. Oz's 44%, narrowly outside the survey's error margin.

After the debate, Republicans intensified their focus on Mr. Fetterman's health, particularly over whether he had been honest about the extent of the damage caused by his stroke.

The Fetterman campaign has released two letters from doctors. In June, Dr. Ramesh Chandra explained the Democrat's health and recovery, disclosed the candidate suffers from atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy, and said that after being advised to follow up on his health five years earlier, Mr. Fetterman "did not go to any doctor for 5 years and did not continue to take his medications."

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And in an October letter, Dr. Clifford Chen wrote Mr. Fetterman is "recovering well from his stroke" and "has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office." Dr. Chen also wrote that during their meeting, Mr. Fetterman "spoke intelligently without cognitive deficits" but "continues to exhibit symptoms of an auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty."

While both letters were meant to quell concerns that he had not been transparent in his recovery, he has stopped short of releasing full medical records.

"I think we have been pretty transparent. We have had our doctors just be very clear that we are able and fit to serve," Mr. Fetterman said. "From my point, we have been also, been very transparent in terms of showing up at a debate and very transparent about having events in front of thousands and thousands of Pennsylvanians for months. It was no secret I was going to miss some words. I was going to mush some words together."

When Mr. Lemon pressed about his doctors briefing the press, Fetterman said: "I just believe that we have our doctors weigh in on that and they believe I am fit to serve. And that is a point that was compatible made in June and compatible just here in October."

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, left, introduces Dave Matthews, who performed during a rally in Downtown, on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and wire services
Medical experts weigh in on John Fetterman’s stroke recovery after U.S. Senate debate with Mehmet Oz

Disconnect on fracking positions

One of the most noteworthy moments of the debate came when Mr. Fetterman struggled to detail his position on fracking, given that he once said he never supported the industry and "never" will.

In his interview with Mr. Lemon, Mr. Fetterman said that "all of the reservations that I had with fracking were all about the environmental concerns, and Pennsylvania passed some of the strongest environmental regulations, and that now means that I have been very supportive about fracking."

Those environmental concerns, however, were addressed in new state rules implemented in 2016, and Mr. Fetterman's comments — "I don't support fracking, at all and I never have" — were made during an interview in 2018.

When pressed on that disconnect, Mr. Fetterman said his opposition "were all part of that" focus on environmental regulations and added that, "in 2017, I was actually very supportive of fracking directly across the street of where I live, too."

Mr. Fetterman said the war in Ukraine has highlighted that "because energy independence is critical," the United States cannot "be hostage to a nation like Russia" over energy.

"It was all about the environmental issue, and after the regulations passed, it is a no-brainer to support fracking and I have been a very strong supporter of fracking," Mr. Fetterman concluded.

Mr. Fetterman also said that while he has long thought of himself as "very empathetic," his stroke and recovery has made him "more than I even was before."

"The kind of health care that saved my life could be the kind of health care that should be for every American," said Mr. Fetterman, whose campaign position on the issue is that in the Senate, he would "support any legislation that gets us closer to the goal of universal health care coverage."

But Mr. Fetterman told Mr. Lemon that his stroke has brought that position into "very specific relief to me ... that every American should have the same kind of opportunities to have that kind of health care."

First Published November 1, 2022, 2:52pm

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Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz shake hands prior to the Nexstar Pennsylvania Senate at WHTM abc27 in Harrisburg, Pa., on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.  (Greg Nash/The Hill/Nexstar)
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