HARRISBURG (TNS) — U.S. Senate Democratic candidate John Fetterman will return to the campaign trail for a rally in Erie next week after a three-month hiatus following a stroke.
Fetterman’s campaign said Friday that the lieutenant governor, who is running against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz for the seat, will hold a rally open to the public and media the night of Aug. 12.
Fetterman suffered a stroke on May 13, just four days before the primary, which he still easily won. He later had a pacemaker with a defibrillator implanted because he has cardiomyopathy, a disease that weakens heart muscles.
“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. Whoever wins Erie County will win Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said in a statement.
“Erie County is Pennsylvania’s most important bellwether county,” he said. “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.”
As Fetterman noted, Erie is a purple county in a purple state, going for former President Donald Trump in 2016 before flipping to President Joe Biden in 2020.
Fetterman won nearly 80% of the Democratic vote (23,248) in Erie County in the May primary, while Oz garnered about 30% (7,548) in the more competitive Republican primary, compared to former hedge fund CEO Dave McCormick’s 33%.
Those results for Fetterman were a big change from 2016, when he finished third in the county — with just over 23% — in the U.S. Senate Democratic primary behind Joe Sestak and eventual nominee Katie McGinty.
The return of Fetterman to in-person campaigning comes as Oz and Republicans have sharpened their attacks on him for being absent after laying off him for several weeks as he recuperated at home in Braddock just outside Pittsburgh.
Last month, Oz’s campaign began releasing ads referring to Fetterman “hiding” from voters and started a daily tracker reminding voters how many days Fetterman had not held a public event.
Up until now, Fetterman’s campaign has repeatedly said he was close to returning to public appearances, but his campaigning has been limited to short edited videos and memes on social media trolling Oz for being from New Jersey.
Fetterman did make a surprise visit to a Democratic volunteer training center in Pittsburgh in early July and has since attended several private fundraising events near Philadelphia.
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