John Fetterman (left) and Dr. Mehmet Oz (right) are facing off in one of 2022 s most competitive U.S. Senate races. (Getty Images)HARRISBURG - Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said Wednesday that he has agreed to an Oct.
25 televised debate against his Republican rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz, although the men feuded about its terms in what has become a flashpoint in the high-stakes campaign.The debate, coming two weeks before the general election, follows weeks of cajoling by Oz, who has raised questions about the severity of Fetterman’s lingering effects from a May stroke and pushed for as many as seven debates.It will be held in the studio of a Harrisburg TV station.Oz's campaign said in a statement that Fetterman had agreed to the debate only "after being hit with massive criticism from state and national editorials and commentators for ducking."Nevertheless, Oz will be at the debate "to share his vision for a better Pennsylvania and America, and he is ready (to) expose Fetterman's record as the most far-left Senate candidate in America," Oz campaign manager Casey Contres wrote in a statement.Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, and Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon endorsed by former President Donald Trump, are vying to replace retiring Republican Sen.
Pat Toomey in a race Democrats see as one of their best chances nationally to flip a Republican-held seat. The winner could help decide the chamber’s partisan control next year.Fetterman’s campaign has said Oz was operating in bad faith by insisting on so many debates and said Oz’s motivation is to mock Fetterman for having a stroke.