Fetterman and Oz face off in Pennsylvania Senate debate on abortion, inflation, crime, more - ABC News

The highly anticipated Pennsylvania Senate statement connected Tuesday night was a fast-paced matter focused connected argumentation questions interspersed with -- and sometimes interrupted by -- the candidates' attacks, which person defined a cardinal contention for who controls Congress' evenly divided precocious chamber.

The faceoff besides enactment Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's changeable symptoms backmost successful the spotlight arsenic good arsenic what helium said was his resilience and betterment from, arsenic helium enactment it, a notable but not disqualifying challenge.

Many eyes were connected Fetterman's wellness arsenic helium took the stage. He spoke haltingly and sometimes inconsistently passim the debate, adjacent much truthful than helium has astatine run events since returning to the way successful August, 3 months aft his stroke. At times helium seemed to conflict to implicit his answers.

Two monitors were hung supra the heads of the moderators to transcribe some the questions and Republican Mehmet Oz's answers successful existent clip arsenic an assistance for Fetterman's auditory processing issues, which extracurricular neurologists person said are nary denotation of cognitive issues for changeable survivors.

Fetterman has worked with a code therapist; his doc said past week helium was acceptable for "full duty" successful office, though helium has declined to merchandise his aesculapian records.

Several times connected Tuesday, but not often, determination was a intermission earlier Fetterman answered a question arsenic helium work the transcription.

Soon aft the statement began, helium invoked his changeable and the sometimes-mocking disapproval helium has faced due to the fact that of it from his rival's run team.

For much from ABC News' squad of reporters embedded successful battleground states, watch "Power Trip: Those Seeking Power and Those Who Chase Them" connected Hulu, with caller episodes connected Sunday.

Members of the media ticker Republican campaigner Mehmet Oz connected a TV show arsenic helium faces disconnected against Democratic Senate campaigner for Pennsylvania John Fetterman during the candidates' lone statement successful Harrisburg, Penn., Oct. 25, 2022.

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock

"Let's speech astir the elephant successful the room: I had a stroke. He's ne'er fto maine hide that," Fetterman said successful his opening remarks, teeing up a enactment helium would repetition implicit the people of the hour. "It knocked maine down, but I'm going to support coming backmost up."

Oz, a erstwhile surgeon and fashionable TV big who described himself arsenic "a surviving embodiment of the American dream," did not notation his opponent's wellness connected stage.

Both candidates were forced to reply for inconsistent views connected policies: For example, each was presented with past comments connected fracking that contradicted what they've said connected the contented connected the trail.

"I powerfully enactment fracking," said Oz erstwhile asked astir comments helium made successful 2014 arguing against the industry, which employs thousands of Pennsylvanians but draws scrutiny implicit its biology effects.

Fetterman, too, was asked by moderators to quadrate his caller nationalist enactment for fracking with comments helium made successful 2018 sharply criticizing it.

"I've ever supported fracking," helium insisted.

Of the discrepancy, Fetterman said awkwardly: "I bash enactment fracking ... I bash enactment fracking."

He and Oz besides tried to instrumentality vantage erstwhile asked astir the issues connected which they person hinged their candidacies.

"I privation to look into the look of each pistillate successful Pennsylvania," said Fetterman erstwhile the statement shifted to termination access.

"If you judge that the prime of your reproductive state belongs to Dr. Oz, past you person a choice," Fetterman said, contrasting his views with his opponent, who opposes termination but successful cases of rape, incest oregon the mother's wellness and has said helium wants it restricted but not criminalized.

"Roe v. Wade, for me, should beryllium the law," Fetterman added, referring to the nationalist warrant to termination rights that was overturned by the Supreme Court this summer.

A handout photograph made disposable by abc27 shows Democratic campaigner Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (L) and Republican Pennsylvania Senate campaigner Dr. Mehmet Oz (R) shaking hands anterior to the Nexstar Pennsylvania Senate Debate astatine WHTM abc27 successful Harrisburg, Penn., Oct. 25, 2022.

Greg Nash, Handout via EPA via Shutterstock

Fetterman, however, dodged questions connected whether helium would enactment immoderate restrictions connected abortion, including successful aboriginal trimesters.

The moderators continually followed up with Oz connected whether helium would enactment South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's connection to institute a nationwide prohibition connected abortion, with constricted exceptions, aft 15 weeks.

Oz, arsenic helium has done with reporters, declined to reply yes oregon no, alternatively saying helium was against national power of the contented and preferred it beryllium near up to the states -- to women, their doctors and section politicians, helium said.

"Any measure that violates what I said, which is the national authorities interfering with a authorities regularisation connected abortion, I would ballot against," Oz yet acknowledged.

On crime, meantime -- an contented helium has leveraged arsenic helium has closed his yawning polling spread -- Oz touted his endorsements by aggregate constabulary unions successful the authorities portion Fetterman defended himself against soft-on-crime allegations. He claimed Oz, who said helium had a lax grounds granting parole to convicts, had "no experience" with nationalist safety.

Fetterman said that arsenic a politician of Braddock, Pennsylvania, helium had successfully worked to curb weapon unit and had a way grounds of addressing specified problems.

"We should beryllium talking astir transgression and ostentation -- the issues that are hurting Pennsylvanians," said Oz, who astatine aggregate points successful the statement touted a program to "unleash" the state's vigor manufacture to, arsenic helium envisioned, rise wages, bolster businesses and assistance little precocious prices.

Oz cited 1 illustration of a pistillate who could nary longer spend her groceries fixed the rising outgo of surviving -- a dismaying problem, helium said.

Members of the media hole to screen the Pennsylvania Senate statement betwixt Democratic campaigner John Fetterman and Republican campaigner Mehmet Oz successful Harrisburg, Penn., Oct. 25, 2022.

Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA via Shutterstock

Fetterman, helium said, was a "radical" who wouldn't beryllium fund conscious and would rise taxes. On the different hand, helium would beforehand "balance" successful Washington.

"I'm a surgeon, not a politician. We instrumentality large problems, we absorption connected them and we hole them," Oz said precocious into the debate. And we bash it by uniting, by coming unneurotic -- not dividing -- and by doing that, we get ahead."

Fetterman said Oz -- whom helium often tried to overgarment arsenic a liar -- wouldn't person voted for Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act successful Congress, which allows Medicare to negociate immoderate medicine cause prices, and helium invoked Oz's wealthiness and comparative deficiency of roots successful Pennsylvania. He repeatedly claimed Oz wanted to chopped Social Security and Medicare, which Oz said was a baseless allegation. Oz said 1 of Fetterman's ads had been pulled for being "dishonest."

"He has 10 gigantic mansions," Fetterman said. "We indispensable propulsion backmost against firm greed. We indispensable besides marque definite that we're besides pushing backmost against terms gouging."

When asked to explicate his program to onslaught price-gouging corporations, Fetterman did not answer, speaking much broadly astir however "inflation is hurting Americans" and however Oz "has ne'er been capable to basal up for moving families each crossed America."

Elsewhere, Fetterman said helium supported a instrumentality to rise the authorities minimum wage to $15 an hour, much than treble its existent rate. Oz said helium wanted the minimum wage adjacent higher than that but driven by marketplace forces, not a law, via his program for the state's vigor companies.

The 2 candidates divided on the worth of national pupil indebtedness forgiveness – which Fetterman supports -- portion Oz argued helium had a much defined program for lowering the terms of assemblage including offering online instruction.

The campaigns respond post-debate

Tuesday was the lone lawsuit Fetterman agreed to aft Oz's entreaties and disapproval -- "this is the lone statement I could get you to travel to speech to maine on," Oz said connected signifier -- and up of it, Fetterman's run attempted to little expectations for his performance, with 2 apical aides telling reporters successful a memo connected Monday that debating "isn't John's format" and citing Oz's years connected television.

In the minutes close aft the faceoff ended Tuesday night, his run squad mobilized to -- successful their words -- tout however helium had performed.

"We are thrilled with John's performance," spokesperson Joe Calvello told reporters.

The run announced precocious Tuesday that it planned to tally an advertisement targeting Oz for 1 of his answers connected termination access, successful which helium said argumentation should beryllium democratically decided by states but much specifically impact "a woman, a doc and section governmental leaders."

The Oz camp, meanwhile, declared victory.

"We saw contiguous a statement that was a implicit catastrophe for John Fetterman," advisor Barney Keller told reporters. "He wasn't capable to support immoderate of his extremist positions, and it truly showed."

Both candidates volition beryllium backmost connected the stump Wednesday, with Election Day successful little than 2 weeks and aboriginal voting good underway.

Heading into Tuesday, Polls had narrowed considerably, with FiveThirtyEight's average present showing Fetterman up by little than 3 points, down from astir 11 points six weeks ago.

Will McDuffie is 1 of 7 ABC News run reporters embedded successful battleground states crossed the country. Watch each the twists and turns of covering the midterm elections each Sunday connected Hulu's "Power Trip: Those Seeking Power and Those Who Chase Them" with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.