PITTSBURGH — John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor whose shorts- and scowl-wearing persona made him something of a political celebrity, has won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, according to The Associated Press.
Fetterman, who entered the race as the Democratic front-runner early last year and only grew his advantage over time, will face the winner of a Republican primary that was still too early to call late Tuesday, in one of the most critical Senate races in the country. In that GOP primary, former hedge fund CEO David McCormick was clinging to a narrow lead over celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz. Conservative commentator Kathy Barnette, after a late surge in the race that shocked Republican insiders, was trailing McCormick and Oz.
As returns rolled in, Fetterman was in a Lancaster hospital, where he was recovering from a stroke he suffered just four days before the primary. His campaign said Tuesday that he underwent a procedure to get a pacemaker to regulate his heart rate.
