“We said from the beginning that we would have a conversation, which John reiterated very clearly again last week,” Rebecca Katz, a senior adviser to the Fetterman campaign, said in a statement. “Enough distractions, time to talk about the issues.” But the campaigns have already begun fighting over the terms of the debate, which will take place two weeks before the general election, after Fetterman’s campaign asked for certain conditions on his continued recovery. Oz has made Fetterman’s willingness to discuss center attack in recent weeks, accusing the Democrat of either lying about the seriousness of his health or being afraid to talk. Fetterman suffered a near-fatal stroke days before the May primary, sidelining him on the campaign trail for most of the summer. He has eased back into some personal activities, but has acknowledged that some of his communication processes are still shaky and has resisted any personal media interviews. Fetterman spokesman Joe Calvello said to “facilitate a seamless conversation,” Nexstar TV, which is hosting the debate in Harrisburg, “has agreed to provide live, real-time closed captioning that will appear on screens visible to the candidates and throughout the discussion”. Oz’s campaign later responded that the Republican would agree to the debate, but asked for specific conditions, such as that the debate moderator explain that Fetterman uses subtitles and that the debate be extended from 60 minutes to 90 minutes to cover any delays. “Dr. Oz looks forward to being in Harrisburg on October 25th to share his vision for a better Pennsylvania and America, and is ready to expose Fetterman’s record as the most radical far-left Senate candidate in America,” said Casey Contreras, the campaign of oz. director, in a statement. “Dr. Oz will continue to push for longer and shorter conversations. Pennsylvania voters shouldn’t have to wait until October 25 to hear from their candidates.” Katz said the Oz campaign was trying to “move the goalposts” by asking for the debate to be extended by 30 minutes. “Oz agreed to a 60 Minutes interview about Nexstar. We then agreed to a 60-minute discussion about Nexstar. Now, suddenly 60 minutes is not good enough, and it demands 90,” she said in a statement. “Let’s be real: If we agreed to 10 debates, Oz would demand 20. He’ll keep trying to move the goals, because that’s his only game.” Pennsylvania’s Senate race is considered one of the most high-stakes contests in the country: Democrats see it as their best chance to win a Republican seat and retain control of the chamber, and Republicans are desperate to keep it in their bid. to win back the majority. Fetterman’s campaign spent most of the summer trolling Oz on social media for his celebrity wealth and longtime New Jersey residency, trying to paint him as out of touch with Pennsylvanians. More recently, Oz hit back, attacking Fetterman for not – until now – engaging in a debate and his positions on crime-related issues. Fetterman has a lead in most public polls, but the race is expected to tighten as November approaches. A new Monmouth University poll released Wednesday found that 47 percent of voters polled had favorable views of Fetterman compared to 36 percent who had favorable views of Oz. The poll also found that more voters would definitely or probably support Fetterman than Oz, 49 percent to 39 percent.
