Pittsburgh was front and center last weekend in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race as Republican nominee Mehmet Oz held a press conference downtown on Sept. 30, while Democratic opponent John Fetterman spoke at a rally in the city’s Strip District the next day.
Fetterman is Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor and a former longtime mayor of Braddock, a borough of 1,633, eight miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
At the Oct. 1 rally, Fetterman walked out to the stage to “Renegade,” a 1979 song by Styx that’s a fan favorite during Pittsburgh Steelers home football games.
“I’m kind of a Heinz Stadium, Dr. Oz is more of an Acrisure Stadium,” Fetterman said.
Since both candidates won their primaries, Fetterman has trolled Oz on social media and in speeches and interviews, sharing his viewpoint that the celebrity surgeon is a wealthy carpetbagger who’s “out of touch” with Pennsylvanians.
Heinz owned the naming rights to the Steelers’s stadium until this year, when the iconic Pittsburgh brand opted to not renew its contract. The stadium now bears the name of Acrisure Insurance, which is based in Michigan.
Fetterman had a double-digit lead in polls over the summer, when he mostly remained at home recovering from a severe stroke he suffered before the May 3 primary.
Oz and multiple media outlets have called for Fetterman to release his medical records, questioning his ability to fulfill his role as a senator if he wins on Nov. 8.
The Oz campaign has also criticized Fetterman for only agreeing to one debate—on Oct. 25, two weeks before the Nov. 8 general election and more than a month after the start of early voting.
