Fetterman holding first public campaign event since stroke

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman will hold a Senate campaign rally on Aug. 12, his first event since suffering a stroke shortly before his May victory in the Democratic primary.

Fetterman’s campaign rally will be held in Erie County, located in the northwestern corner of the state. 

“Erie County is Pennsylvania’s most important bellwether county,” Fetterman said in a release. “I’ve visited Erie dozens and dozens of times in the past, and I am honored and proud to be returning to the campaign trail here.” 

Fetterman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month in his first interview since having his stroke that he feels “really good” and has “no physical limits.” He said he understands words properly, has no memory loss and walks four to five miles per day. 

Fetterman said in the release that he won Erie County in the Democratic primary with 80 percent of the vote and received three times the raw vote count in the county that Mehmet Oz, his Republican opponent, received in the GOP primary. 

“Before the 2020 election, I said that if I could know one single fact about the results, I could tell you who was going to win Pennsylvania,” he said. “Whoever wins Erie County will win Pennsylvania.” 

The Senate seat is being vacated by the retiring Sen. Pat Toomey (R), who has held the seat since 2011. 

The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Fetterman leading Oz by an average of 8.7 percentage points. He led by 11 points in a Fox News poll taken late last month. 

Democrats view the seat as a prime pickup opportunity as they attempt to hold, or even expand, their control of the Senate.