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.