The 2022 midterm elections are 14 days away and the two Pennsylvania senatorial candidates in one of the most closely watched races are squaring off in their sole debate Tuesday night. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic candidate, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate, are vying for the seat of the retiring Pat Toomey, a Republican. The winner could tip the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. Here’s what you need to know.
The hour-long debate airs at 8 p.m. ET from a television studio in Harrisburg, Pa. The debate will not feature a live audience but 30% of voters say they are very likely to tune in, according to a CBS poll.
The debate will be moderated by WHTM news anchor Dennis Owens and WPXI anchor Lisa Sylvester and shown on nine Nexstar Pennsylvania stations listed below:
- WPHL-TV: Philadelphia
- WPXI-TV: Pittsburgh
- WTAJ-TV: Johnstown, Altoona, State College
- WYOU-TV: Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton
- WBRE: Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton
- WHTM-TV: Harrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon, York
- WJET-TV: Erie
- WFXP-TV: Erie
- WYTV-DT: Youngstown, Ohio
The debate will also be broadcast on radio stations across the state and online on the station’s websites.
The Republican candidate hosts a talk show, The Dr. Oz Show, which aired for 13 seasons on ABC before moving to the Oprah Winfrey Network. Oz beat his primary opponent, David McCormick, in May by a mere 951 votes after an automatic recount.
Fetterman served 13 years as mayor of Braddock, Pa. before his election as lieutenant governor. Fetterman cruised through the Democratic primary, winning 58% of the vote compared to the 26% of his closest competitor.
Oz has called Fetterman’s agenda “radical, deadly, wrong” in an ad campaign and has attacked his opponent’s agreement to only one debate. Fetterman initially campaigned on a minimum of three debates. But he after he suffered a stroke on the campaign trail, Fetterman agreed to just one debate. Oz has placed on his Twitter cover page a screenshot of a tweet by Fetterman proclaiming: “Debates are important.”
Much of the summer was spent focusing on Fetterman’s health following a near-fatal stroke two days before the primary. Fetterman is experiencing “an auditory processing disorder which can come across as hearing difficulty,” according to his physician in a letter released early last week. Fetterman will rely on closed captioning for the moderator’s questions and Oz’s responses.
Nonetheless, the debate is likely to focus on issues such as abortion, gas prices, fracking and immigration.
The two candidates stand opposed on several issues. Fetterman has stated plans to modernize the path to citizenship including alterations to the current visa and asylum programs. Oz, who was endorsed by Donald Trump in the primary, has criticized Biden’s immigration policies and supports securing the border “with a barrier – whether that is a physical wall or one patrolled by technological advances,” according to his campaign website. Oz is “100% pro-life” while Fetterman supports The Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill to codify legal abortion access.