HARRISBURG, Pa. - Democrat John Fetterman won Pennsylvania’s pivotal race for U.S. Senate, flipping a Republican-held seat as he recovers from a stroke during the bare-knuckled campaign and giving Democrats hope they can retain control of the closely divided chamber.
Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz, the smooth-talking and wealthy heart surgeon-turned-TV celebrity in the presidential battleground state.
Oz called Fetterman to concede around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Fetterman, 53, campaigned while recovering from a stroke, requiring closed captioning during media interviews and the lone debate between the men. In it, he turned in a rocky performance in which he struggled to complete sentences, jumbled words and fueled concern inside his party that it had doomed the race.
To underscore the importance of the race, President Joe Biden campaigned in Pennsylvania for Fetterman three times in the final three weeks, while former President Donald Trump came in, as well, to hold a rally for Oz, his endorsed candidate.
Oz also carried heavy baggage into the election. That included having just moved from his longtime home in neighboring New Jersey—a mansion overlooking the Hudson River just across from Manhattan—and barely winning a bruising primary in which opponents cast him as an out-of-touch Hollywood liberal.
Fetterman won despite national political headwinds for Democrats, such as rising inflation. He will succeed retiring second-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.