INDIANA, Pa. — For Democrats here at the intersection of several bright red counties, the running joke to political outsiders — according to the county party chair — is that the last Democratic presidential candidate to visit Indiana County was John F. Kennedy.
It’s not often that a big name comes to town, as Democrats, by and large, haven’t always seen value in places that won’t turn out in high numbers for them in statewide races. But that’s not John Fetterman, insiders said Tuesday, as the U.S. Senate candidate took to the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania to give a quick stump speech.
Mr. Fetterman — whose campaign slogan is “Every Vote, Every County” — has made it a point to try to trim the margins in rural Pennsylvania, hoping that it will pay off in a race that could be decided by a few percentage points or less.
He reaffirmed that commitment on Tuesday in the lobby of the Kovalchick Center, giving a quick speech — clocking in at seven minutes — in which he poked fun at his opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz, for his ties to New Jersey, his wealth and his familiarity, or lack thereof, with the intricacies of Pennsylvania.
The biggest change for Mr. Fetterman — at least from his first rally last month — is that he appears to be talking more about the stroke he suffered in May, using it to connect back to his campaign’s central arguments.
At this event, he asked the audience of about 400 if they’ve ever faced a personal health challenge, and almost everyone raised a hand.
“I truly, truly hope that you do not have a doctor in your life laughing at you, making fun of it, saying that you can’t do the job that you have,” Mr. Fetterman said. “Unfortunately, I do have a doctor in my life doing that — and if Indiana County doesn’t show up, you’re going to have a doctor in your life for the next six years.”
Mr. Oz’s team has escalated its rhetoric in recent weeks about Mr. Fetterman’s health, alleging that the reason he won’t commit to more than one debate is that he’s either hiding the true status of his health or unwilling to defend his “radical” policies. The Oz camp has framed the strategy as seeking greater transparency from Mr. Fetterman.
In his speech, Mr. Fetterman boasted that he got more votes in the May Democratic primary in Indiana County than Mr. Oz did in his GOP contest — and that’s true; Mr. Fetterman won 3,829 votes and Mr. Oz garnered 3,537. However, Mr. Oz was locked in a particularly brutal intraparty contest with Republican Dave McCormick, in which millions of dollars poured onto the airwaves.
Nonetheless, the Fetterman campaign noted that their candidate has already performed well in “ruby red” Indiana, and will continue to fight for votes there. Jamie Smith, chair of the Indiana County Democrats, said the strategy is worthwhile.
“In an election like this, every vote is going to matter. Every county is going to matter,” Mr. Smith said. “If you’re going to the big rallies in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Scranton, that’s great — but where you really pick up ground are those 400, 500 and 1,000-people rallies you have in places like Indiana.”
In a speech that sounded at times more like a stand-up comedy routine, Mr. Fetterman jabbed at his opponent numerous times, and said it’s unlikely that Mr. Oz would have ever visited a place like Indiana if he weren’t running for Senate.
Mr. Oz, a longtime New Jersey resident, has said he knows Pennsylvania “very well,” grew up south of Philadelphia, went to medical and business school and met and married his wife here.
On a more serious note, Mr. Fetterman, describing the stakes of the election, said the right to an abortion is on the line this November. He’s said he supports the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would guarantee a woman’s right to an abortion in a manner that would make it harder for courts and individual states to levy restrictions.
Mr. Fetterman quoted Mr. Oz as saying that “every abortion is a murder,” which would mean — in Mr. Fetterman’s words — that every woman who gets an abortion would be considered a “killer” in his mind.
He was referring to reporting on NBC News last month that unearthed audio from a May tele-town hall by Mr. Oz, who said, in the clip, that he believes life starts at conception.
“If life starts at conception, why do you care what stage our hearts starts beating at? It’s, you know, it’s still murder, if you were to terminate a child whether their heart’s beating or not,” Mr. Oz said.
Since then, Mr. Oz has clarified that he does not support criminal penalties for those who have abortions or the doctors providing the care, according to a Politico report on a press conference he held earlier this month in Philadelphia.
Mr. Fetterman, in his speech, said — of his recovery from a stroke — that he may miss a word or “might mush two words together.” It happened at points in his seven-minute remarks; his last line to the audience was, “Send us back to New Jersey. Send me to D.C. for you.” He’s said this line before, but it’s usually, “Send Oz back to New Jersey.”
He told the Post-Gazette in July that he was working with a speech therapist.
Wearing a Fetterman shirt inside the event center, Will Latinette, a 70-year-old retired researcher who lives near Blairsville, said he comes from a town where residents have a pretty negative view of Democrats. He applauded Mr. Fetterman’s approach of coming to the reddest of counties.
“Republicans try to be populist, but their policies are not. His are,” Mr. Latinette said, “and they have been from the very beginning.”
In a statement advancing the Fetterman rally, Sean Shute, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said Mr. Oz is “the only candidate in this race who is ready to fight for economic opportunity for all Pennsylvania families, which voters will make abundantly clear at the ballot box in November.”
“Failed politicians like John Fetterman and Joe Biden are driving historic inflation, threatening to demolish energy jobs, and crushing opportunity for families and workers across the Keystone State,” Mr. Shute said.
Sam Bigham, president of the IUP College Democrats, said even if Mr. Fetterman doesn’t win Indiana County — which is likely — the votes will be well worth it.
“A lot of rural counties in this country are being forgotten. They’re being neglected. ... That’s why Democrats don’t win rural counties like they used to 80 years ago. That’s why they don’t win the working class like they used to 80 years ago,” Mr. Bigham said. “So I think it’s important for him to reconnect with the voters the Democrats have lost.”
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com
First Published: September 21, 2022, 1:23 a.m.
