In a race that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate, Democratic nominee and Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s health has emerged as the most widely discussed issue.
Fetterman suffered a severe stroke days before the May 17 primary and has made limited public appearances. His opponent, Republican nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz, has repeatedly questioned Fetterman’s health, as have multiple media outlets.
Stating that they are concerned about the candidate’s lack of transparency, a group of Pennsylvania physicians released a statement on Oct. 18 requesting Fetterman to unveil his medical records.
Shared by the Oz campaign, the letter says:
“Ever since his life-threatening stroke in May, John Fetterman has been eager to assure voters that his long-term health was not affected, repeatedly insisting that he is capable of serving in the United States Senate.
“However, despite multiple requests from voters and the media, Fetterman has refused to release his medical records or produce any hard evidence that supports these claims.
As physicians, we understand the permanent damage that may result from a stroke and are unwilling to gamble the future of our Commonwealth on unproven promises alone.
We are calling on John Fetterman to immediately release his medical records and provide Pennsylvanians with the transparency they are owed.
“The people of Pennsylvania deserve a Senator who will answer tough questions, face challenges head on, and address voter concerns truthfully.
“If John Fetterman can’t even be honest and upfront about his own condition, how could he be trusted to represent Pennsylvanians in Washington?
“Fetterman’s perpetual lack of transparency raises questions about whether he is fit to serve, and robs voters of their right to make an informed and educated decision about who they trust to represent them for the next six years.
“Fetterman must release his medical records, anything less is nothing short of deception.”
The letter concludes with the names of the physicians, who are: Dr. Richard Bonfiglio, Westmoreland County; Dr. Frank Polidora, Luzerne County; Dr. Anthony J. van Norman, Allegheny County; Dr. Christopher Hunzeker, Allegheny County; Dr. H. Martin Wrigley, Butler County; Dr. Jonathan Bellotte, Erie County; Dr. Kim Mascia, Erie County; Dr. Lawrence John, Allegheny County; Dr. Lawrence Cox, York County; Dr. Nche Zama, Northampton County; Dr. Pamela Beck, Erie County; Dr. Richard Alley, Luzerne County; Dr. Seth Kaufer, Luzerne County; Dr. Raffi Terzian, Chester County; Dr. Gordon Eck, Chester County.
In response, Real Doctors Against Oz tweeted their support for Fetterman.
https://twitter.com/docsagainstoz/status/1582407644899180545
After the primary, Fetterman spent most of his time at home, away from the campaign trail and active on social media posting memes that trolled Oz.
Fetterman held a double-digit lead in the polls most of the summer, but the race has tightened in recent months as Republicans have bombarded the airwaves with ads highlighting Fetterman’s progressive record on crime, his refusal to commit to more than one debate, and the lingering questions about his fitness to serve if he wins on Nov. 8.
Fetterman made his first public appearance since his stroke on Aug. 12. Oz immediately challenged him to appear on the debate stage. Oz asked for five debates from Sept. 6 to Oct. 5. Fetterman eventually agreed to one debate—on Oct. 25, two weeks before election day. Early voting started in Pennsylvania on Sept. 19.
Oz told reporters last month that “I have tremendous empathy for what John Fetterman is going through. It’s an area that I specialize in in medicine. All of these issues are challenges, especially if you’re in the political arena, which is physically demanding,
“Focus on the voters, though. They have a right to hear my opponent articulate and defend his policies,” Oz added. “John Fetterman has been ducking, dodging these debates, which is insulting to the voters of Pennsylvania.
“And he has to own the reasons for his desire to avoid a debate with me. Either he’s healthy, which he says he is, and doesn’t want to answer for his radical positions in past statements, or he’s lying about his health.”
In September, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board called on both candidates to release their medical records. Oz obliged, and the results indicated he is in good health. Fetterman has repeatedly refused.
Fetterman is the former mayor of Braddock, a tiny borough southeast of Pittsburgh where he still lives. Earlier this month, a Post-Gazette editorial once again urged him to follow Oz’s lead. He has yet to do so.
The editorial said that “As a matter of transparency, all candidates for a major political office should release their medical records, disclosing conditions that might affect their ability to serve. Medical records are not a perfect indicator of health, but they are more reliable than biased and self-serving assessments by the candidates themselves.
“That said, medical records are not a reason to vote for a candidate. Other, far more important considerations, including character and positions on key issues, should determine which candidate a voter supports. Nor are medical records any guarantee of how healthy a person will be two years from now.
“By not releasing his medical records, however, Mr Fetterman is elevating their importance and generating suspicions that may be entirely unwarranted. Mr Fetterman’s failure to release his medical records has allowed Mr Oz to make Mr Fetterman’s health a major campaign issue.
“Mr Fetterman also is showing a fundamental lack of faith in people’s ability to put health into perspective and fairly decide his overall fitness for office.”
In early June, Fetterman revealed that he has a previously undisclosed heart condition, which is why doctors implanted a pacemaker with a defibrillator into his heart after he had the stroke in May.
Fetterman released a letter from his doctor that reported he was diagnosed with “a decreased heart pump” in 2017.
The pacemaker was helping regulate his atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm also known as A-fib, which led to his stroke in May, Fetterman’s campaign announced.
Ramesh Chandra is Fetterman’s cardiologist. In the letter, he wrote that Fetterman did not follow his orders after the 2017 appointment. Chandra diagnosed Fetterman with atrial fibrillation at the time, he wrote.
“I had prescribed medications along with improved diet and exercise and asked him to follow up again in the following months,” he said in the letter. “Instead, I did not see him again until yesterday. John did not go to any doctor for five years and did not continue taking his medications.”
Fetterman released a statement admitting that he should have been more diligent in addressing his heart conditions.
“As my doctor said, I should have taken my health more seriously. The stroke I suffered on May 13 didn’t come out of nowhere,” Fetterman said in the statement earlier this year.
“Like so many others, and so many men in particular, I avoided going to the doctor, even though I knew I didn’t feel well. As a result, I almost died. I want to encourage others to not make the same mistake.”
In the letter, Chandra wrote that Fetterman is “well compensated and stable” and “if he takes his medications, eats healthy, and exercises, he’ll be fine.”
“If he does what I’ve told him, and I do believe that he is taking his recovery and his health very seriously this time, he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem,” Chandra added.
On Oct. 7, Fetterman granted NBC News’ Dasha Burns his first sit-down interview since the May stroke.
In the interview, which aired on Oct. 11, Fetterman required a monitor with closed captioning to understand Burns’ questions and had trouble speaking clearly.
“I sometimes will hear things in a way that’s not perfectly clear,” Fetterman said in the interview. “So I use captioning, so I’m able to see what you’re saying on the captioning.”
During the interview, Burns asked Fetterman if there any other symptoms or health conditions that he has not disclosed.
“I’m sorry. No, no, I don’t in terms of the auditory processing and things in terms of any, any symptoms related to the stroke or any other conditions,” Fetterman said.
Burns then asked, “Is there anything else that is in your health record—any other conditions or symptoms that you have not told voters about?”
“As far as I know,” Fetterman responded.
Burns also asked, “Can voters trust that you will be able to do this job on day one?”
Fetterman hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Yeah, of course.”
When asked if the stroke would affect his ability to fulfill his duties as a senator if he wins, Fetterman told Burns, “I don’t think it’s going to have an impact. I feel like I’m gonna get better and better—every day. And by January, I’m going [to] be, you know, much better. And Dr. Oz is still going to be a fraud.”
Fetterman held a double-digit lead in multiple polls over the summer. In August, a Real Clear Politics average of polls showed that Fetterman held a 9-point advantage over Oz. Now, the average is 3.4 points.
The most recent survey, conducted by The Trafalgar Group between Oct. 8 and Oct. 11, indicated that Fetterman’s lead over Oz was 47.2 percent to 44.8 percent.
