Six takeaways from the Pennsylvania Senate debate between Fetterman and Oz - CNN

CNN  — 

The archetypal and lone statement betwixt Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz rapidly devolved into a bid of idiosyncratic and biting attacks successful what has go the highest stakes Senate race successful the country.

Throughout the night, Fetterman’s transportation was astatine times halting and repetitive, with the Democrat – who suffered a changeable successful May – dropping words during answers and occasionally losing his bid of thought. Much of the attraction heading into the statement was connected Fetterman’s ongoing betterment and however his conflict with auditory processing and code could interaction a statement against idiosyncratic who roseate to nationalist prominence hosting a syndicated tv show.

But the statement besides emphasized the heavy argumentation differences betwixt the candidates, with the 2 candidates sparring implicit vigor policy, termination and the economy.

Oz intelligibly entered the statement hoping to formed Fetterman arsenic idiosyncratic excessively utmost to correspond Pennsylvania, utilizing the word “extreme” countless times to picture respective the Democrat’s positions. And Fetterman, successful an effort to rapidly negate galore of criticisms, utilized the operation the “Oz rule” to picture his opponent’s narration with the truth.

Here are six takeaways from Tuesday night’s debate:

Fetterman struggled to item his presumption connected fracking, fixed he erstwhile said he ne'er supported the manufacture and “never” will.

Oz came prepared connected the issue, hitting Fetterman erstwhile asked astir it.

“He supports Biden’s tendency to prohibition fracking connected nationalist lands, which are our lands, each of our lands together,” Oz said. “This is an utmost presumption connected energy. If we unleashed our vigor present successful Pennsylvania, it would assistance everybody.”

When Oz raised Fetterman’s comments astir fracking, Fetterman pushed back.

“I perfectly enactment fracking,” Fetterman said. “I judge that we request independency with vigor and I judge I person walked that enactment my full career.”

He added, “I person ever supported fracking and I ever judge independency with our vigor is critical.”

But that isn’t existent – Fetterman has a agelong past of antipathy toward the signifier of injecting h2o into shale formations to escaped up deposits of lipid and earthy state that were not economically accessible before.

“I don’t enactment fracking astatine each and I ne'er have,” Fetterman told a left-wing YouTube transmission successful 2018 erstwhile moving for lieutenant governor. “And I’ve, I’ve signed the nary fossil fuels wealth pledge. I person ne'er received a dime from immoderate earthy state oregon lipid institution whatsoever.”

When the moderators noted that position, Fetterman appeared astatine a nonaccomplishment for words.

“I bash enactment fracking and I don’t, I don’t, I enactment fracking and I basal and I bash enactment fracking,” Fetterman said.

Oz has declined for weeks to springiness a steadfast reply astir however helium would ballot connected a measure projected South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham that would prohibition abortions aft 15 weeks of pregnancy.

And this statement was nary different.

“There should not beryllium engagement from the national authorities successful however states determine their termination decisions,” Oz said erstwhile asked astir abortion, earlier turning the contented connected Fetterman and calling him “radical” and “extreme.”

But erstwhile straight asked however helium would ballot connected the Graham bill, Oz declined to answer, claiming helium was giving a bigger reply by saying helium was “not going to enactment national rules that artifact the quality of states to bash what they privation to do.”

The deficiency of an reply gave Fetterman an opening.

“I privation to look into the look of each pistillate successful Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said. “You know, if you judge that the prime of your reproductive state belongs with Dr. Oz past you person a choice. But if you judge that the prime for termination belongs with you and your doctor, that’s what I combat for. Roe v Wade for maine is, should beryllium the law.”

Fetterman, however, went beyond that presumption during the primary.

When asked by CNN whether helium supported “any restrictions connected abortion,” Fetterman said helium did not. He took a akin presumption during a superior debate.

Oz utilized the moment, again, to telephone Fetterman out, saying it was “important” for Fetterman to “at slightest acknowledge” that helium had taken different presumption connected abortion.

But it was an Oz remark that Democrats, including the Fetterman campaign, person seized connected aft the debate.

Oz said helium thought the statement astir termination should beryllium near to “women, doctors, section governmental leaders,” a continuation of his statement that states, not the national authorities should determine the issue.

Top Democrats spot the remark arsenic an opening to nexus Oz with Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, a authorities legislator who introduced a 2019 measure that would necessitate physicians to find if a fetal heartbeat is contiguous anterior to an termination and prohibit the process if a heartbeat is detected.

Their argument: Oz thinks politicians similar Mastriano – either arsenic authorities legislator oregon perchance arsenic politician – should determine the issue.

The Fetterman run announced aft the statement it would enactment wealth down an advertisement highlighting the Oz comment.

The Fetterman run went to large lengths to debar debating – until the disapproval from editorial boards, the Oz run and others became excessively untenable to support resisting.

After watching the statement successful Harrisburg, adjacent though Fetterman’s code has shown signs of sizeable betterment with each passing week since his May stroke, it’s an unfastened question whether it was a omniscient determination to enactment him connected the signifier with Oz. It was, astatine galore points, hard to watch.

Most, if not all, Democrats volition astir surely springiness him the payment of the doubt, but it’s an unfastened question whether voters will.

Fetterman struggled to prosecute a accordant lawsuit against Oz and to support up with the velocity of the hourlong debate. Oz, for his part, seldom talked astir his rival’s betterment from a May stroke. Of course, helium didn’t person to.

If immoderate Pennsylvania voters missed the debate, not to worry.

There’s definite to beryllium millions of dollars’ worthy of caller ads – replaying galore of the uncomfortable moments – from the apical Republican ace PAC that doubled down connected the contention earlier Tuesday.

Do debates matter? In little than 2 weeks, Pennsylvania voters volition assistance reply that question. But this 1 volition surely reverberate for the remainder of the campaign.

In an property erstwhile politicians are being cautious astir however they clasp President Joe Biden and erstwhile President Donald Trump, that caution was not connected show Tuesday night.

When asked if helium would backmost Trump successful 2024, Oz – who received Trump’s endorsement during the contentious Republican superior successful the commonwealth – said, “I volition enactment whoever the Republican enactment puts up.”

“I would enactment Donald Trump if helium decided to tally for president, but this is bigger than 1 candidate,” Oz said.

And for his part, Fetterman did not tally distant from Biden, who has made Pennsylvania – which helium flipped backmost to Democrats successful 2020 – 1 of the fewer states helium has repeatedly visited during the 2022 midterms.

“If helium does take to run, I would perfectly enactment him, but ultimately, that’s yet lone his choice,” Fetterman said. “At the extremity of the day, I judge Joe Biden is simply a bully household man, and I judge helium stands for the national mode of life.”

It was wide Oz was much comfy than Fetterman connected the statement signifier – thing Fetterman aides expected and attempted to item up of clip with a pre-debate memo noting, “Dr. Oz has been a nonrecreational TV property for the past 2 decades.”

But the differences were evident from the outset.

Fetterman appeared tense connected stage, drafting a crisp opposition with Oz, who was astatine ease, often smiling and seemingly comfortable.

Fetterman attempted to deed backmost astatine Oz’s adjacent changeless barbs, astatine times interrupting portion the campaigner was answering – astir noticeably during the closing arguments.

“You privation to chopped Social Security,” Fetterman interjected arsenic Oz was speaking astir gathering seniors disquieted astir their Social Security checks.

Oz kept speaking, arsenic moderator WPXI anchor Lisa Sylvester chimed in, “Mr. Fetterman, it’s his crook for his closing.”

Oz avoided attacking Fetterman’s changeable recovery, a determination that was retired of measurement with his campaign, which astatine times utilized a mocking code to onslaught the Democrat. But Oz did constituent retired that his hostile lone agreed to instrumentality the statement signifier once.

“This is the lone statement I could get you to travel to speech to maine on, and I had to beg connected my knees to get you to travel in,” Oz said.

Fetterman again declined to merchandise much aesculapian accusation beyond the 2 letters his superior doctors person enactment out. Most recently, Fetterman’s doc wrote that the Democrat “has nary enactment restrictions and tin enactment afloat work successful nationalist office.”

Fetterman said helium deferred to his “real doctors” connected whether to merchandise much aesculapian information, a subtle excavation astatine Oz, and stressed his beingness connected the signifier and enactment connected the run way was impervious capable that helium was acceptable for the job.

“Transparency is astir showing up. I’m present contiguous to person a debate. I person speeches successful beforehand of 3,000 radical successful Montgomery County, each crossed Pennsylvania, big, large crowds,” Fetterman said. “You know, I judge If my doc believes that I’m acceptable to serve, and that’s what I judge is appropriate.”

When pressed by moderator WHTM abc27 News anchor Dennis Owens, Fetterman replied, “My doc believes I’m acceptable to beryllium serving.”

This communicative has been updated with much from the debate.