In Pennsylvania’s closely watched U.S. Senate race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman narrowly defeated celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz. In surviving a bruising campaign and overcoming a serious stroke, Fetterman deserves credit for holding off a formidable challenge from Oz in the closing weeks of the campaign. The race pitted a left-leaning Democrat against a right-leaning Republican. Even though issues didn’t dominate the Senate race — it was more of a slugfest of attacks and counter-attacks — the ideological chasm between the two candidates framed the campaign. Oz tried to exploit those differences by, repeatedly, calling Fetterman “extreme” and “radical,” but Fetterman’s portrayal of Oz as a “liar” was the label that really stuck.
Fetterman succeeded by not conceding red counties to the Republicans. His appeal to white working-class voters — the people who have left the Democratic Party in droves — and his progressive politics may give Democrats, who have increasingly targeted suburban swing voters, a new model and path to victory. Fetterman supports a big increase in the minimum wage and "Medicare for All," though he also supports, in a possible election-year conversion, more right-leaning policies like fracking. As a U.S. senator, Fetterman vows to put a high priority on raising the minimum wage, union rights, abortion rights and access to health care.
With control of the U.S. House and Senate still up in the air, election results nationwide reflect a nation as divided as Pennsylvania’s Senate race. It will take real leadership in Washington to overcome those differences and move the country forward.
