7 percent of Pennsylvania voters dissuaded by Fetterman’s stroke: poll

A significant number of Pennsylvania voters say they would have voted for Democratic Senate nominee John Fetterman if he hadn’t had a stroke earlier this year, according to a new USA Today-Suffolk University poll.

In the poll, 7 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they were supporting other candidates or remained undecided, but would have supported the Democrat if not for the stroke he suffered in May.

Fetterman’s health condition was thrust into the spotlight last week in his only debate with Republican nominee Mehmet Oz. Fetterman often stumbled over his words or lost his train of thought.

According to the poll, Fetterman’s lead has shrunk to 2 points, with the Democrat now leading the Republican 47 percent to 45 percent, compared to a six-point spread in September, when Fetterman led Oz 46 percent to 40 percent.

In the opening remarks of the debate, Fetterman even addressed the “elephant in the room,” a reference to his auditory processing difficulties stemming from the stroke, which required him to use a closed captioning device.

Fetterman, 53, told CNN this week that he “always understood that it wasn’t going to be easy.”

“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,” he told Don Lemon.

A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday showed voters trust Oz more than Fetterman to serve a six-year term as a U.S. Senator, with 59 percent saying Oz is capable and 48 percent saying the same for Fetterman.

Still, about 48 percent said they believe Fetterman when he says his auditory processing difficulties do not affect his ability to do his job, while 40 percent do not.

Fetterman is leading Oz by several points in other polls and he may still have a path to victory in one of the most closely watched Senate races this election cycle.

The USA Today-Suffolk University poll was conducted from Oct. 27-30 among 500 Pennsylvania likely voters. The margin of error is 4.4 percentage points.