In front of a crowd nearly triple the anticipated turnout, John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, spoke for roughly 11 minutes in his first public campaign appearance since suffering a stroke in May.
August 13, 2022, 10:32 AMPennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for the state's U.S. Senate seat, speaks during a rally in Erie, Pa., on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022.
The lieutenant governor briefly paused in the middle of several sentences and sometimes repeated words. In an interview last month with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he said he was working with a speech therapist and insisted he had "nothing to hide" regarding his health."Tomorrow is, three months ago, my life could have ended," he said, remembering the moment he said his wife noticed he was having a stroke on the way to a campaign event.
Fetterman's campaign chose Erie because its voters are notorious for being unpredictable and indicative of statewide margins. Donald Trump won Erie County in 2016 before it swung to Joe Biden four years later. The county was decided both years by fewer than 2,000 votes."If you can't win Erie County, you can't win Pennsylvania," Fetterman said on stage.
"Fetterman has spent more time here as an elected official than anyone I can remember since he first ran for Senate in 2016," he added, referring to Fetterman's first campaign for a U.S. Senate seat.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
John Fetterman 'grateful' as he returns to Pennsylvania Senate raceThe high-profile Senate contest has been playing out on television and social media despite Fetterman's extended absence.
Read more »
PA Senate candidate John Fetterman to hold first rally in Erie since strokePennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman is getting back on the campaign trail. On Friday, he will hold his first rally in Erie since his stroke in May.
Read more »
‘I will deliver Pennsylvania for us’: John Fetterman returns to the Senate campaign trail in ErieJohn Fetterman's rally before nearly 1,400 marked a notable relaunch of his high-stakes campaign following repeated attacks about his absence from the trail from his Republican rival, Mehmet Oz.
Read more »
Now back on trail, Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman admits his 'life could have ended'Fetterman, who currently is Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor, has been carrying out his campaign almost entirely online since his stroke in May.
Read more »
Fetterman 'grateful' as he returns to Pa. Senate raceERIE, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman acknowledged he was lucky to be alive as he officially returned to the campaign trail Friday, more than 90 days after the Democrat suffered a stroke that threatened his life and political prospects in one of the nation's premier Senate contests .
Read more »
Fetterman returns to Senate campaign trail as Democrats try to continue midterm momentumSpeaking at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pa., on Friday, nearly three months to the day from a stroke he said nearly killed him, Fetterman expressed gratitude to the crowd of more than a thousand, most of whom had been lined up outside when the doors opened.
Read more »