Fetterman campaign says it raised $1 million in 3 hours after Pennsylvania Senate debate with Oz

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's run said Wednesday it raised much than $1 cardinal successful conscionable 3 hours pursuing the Democratic Senate candidate's debate with his Republican rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz.

The "unprecedented" haul demonstrates "deep grassroots enthusiasm" for Fetterman, his run said.

The sole faceoff betwixt Fetterman, the progressive erstwhile Braddock mayor, and Oz, the personage doc backed by erstwhile President Donald Trump, marked the climax of 1 of the astir important races of the Nov. 8 midterm elections.

It besides enactment a spotlight connected Fetterman's continued struggles aft helium suffered a life-threatening changeable successful May that took him disconnected the run way for months.

While the Democrat's doctors accidental he is recovering well, his lingering auditory processing issues person required him to trust connected a unrecorded closed-captioning strategy successful caller interviews, arsenic good arsenic successful Tuesday night's debate.

But adjacent with the technological aid, Fetterman appeared to person important occupation forming immoderate sentences and delivering cogent responses passim the hourlong lawsuit successful Harrisburg.

He acknowledged his hard betterment astatine the commencement and extremity of the debate, saying his run is "all astir warring for anyone successful Pennsylvania that ever got knocked down and had to get backmost up again."

Fetterman's ain run had tempered expectations successful beforehand of the debate, informing that "this isn't John's format" and that the usage of closed-captioning could pb to awkward moments.

"It's wide that the radical of Pennsylvania person John's backmost successful this race," Fetterman run manager Brendan McPhillips said successful a property merchandise announcing the post-debate fundraising windfall.

"They stepped up contiguous with a gigantic amusement of enactment for John and his statement performance. We're honored and grateful for the enactment heading into the past 2 weeks of the race," McPhillips said.

The candidates fielded questions astir crime, economical and societal issues and their ain backgrounds during the unrecorded debate.

On abortion, a large contented successful the midterms pursuing a Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Oz said helium wants decisions near to "women, doctors, [and] section governmental leaders."

Fetterman, meanwhile, appeared tripped up erstwhile asked to reconcile his existent enactment for fracking with his erstwhile claims that helium has "never" supported fracking.

Each campaigner besides repeatedly accused the different of lying, echoing the aggressively rancorous code that has defined the pivotal Pennsylvania Senate contention for months.

Both Democrats and Republicans spot the plaything authorities spot arsenic a must-win contention connected the way to controlling the Senate.

Fetterman and Oz are competing to win GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, who is retiring astatine the extremity of the term. The opening successful Pennsylvania, wherever President Joe Biden bushed Trump successful 2020, gives Democrats 1 of their champion chances to flip a Republican-held spot and cling to their razor-thin Senate bulk through an unfavorable governmental cycle.

With Election Day little than 2 weeks out, the candidates look to beryllium successful a virtual dormant heat, according to averages of caller polls compiled by RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight.