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Fetterman undergoes procedure to implant pacemaker

Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman’s (D) campaign announced on Tuesday that the state’s lieutenant governor had undergone a procedure to implant a pacemaker after he suffered a stroke late last week.

“John Fetterman just completed a successful procedure to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator.  The procedure began at 3:15pm, John was released at 5:56pm, and he has been given the all-clear that it was successful. He is resting at the hospital and recovering well. John continues to improve every day, and he is still on track for a full recovery,” the campaign said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Fetterman had said in a statement on Sunday that he had had a stroke on Friday but added at the time that “the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage” and that “I’m well on my way to a full recovery.”

The development comes as voting in Pennsylvania’s Senate primary is ongoing with polls closing later today. The lieutenant governor is facing off against Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) for the Democratic nomination.

Fetterman tweeted earlier on Tuesday that he had filled out an absentee ballot at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health hospital.

A poll from Franklin & Marshall College from earlier this month showed Fetterman winning the support of 53 percent of respondents compared to Lamb’s 15 percent. Polling shows the gap between two candidates has widened. 

Updated at 6:40 p.m.