Fetterman Projected Winner of US Senate Race

Awaiting Response From Oz, Republican Opponent

(Left) Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate John Fetterman addresses supporters during a rally at Norris Park in Philadelphia on Oct. 15, 2022. (Right) Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz hosts a safer streets community discussion in Philadelphia on Oct. 13, 2022. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

NEWTOWN, Pa.—About 90 minutes after his Republican opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, told supporters that victory was still possible, Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate, John Fetterman, had widened his lead, prompting several media outlets to call the race for Fetterman.

Then Fetterman proclaimed victory in a tweet just before 1 a.m. Nov. 9: “It’s official. I will be the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania.”

By that time, Oz’s election-night “watch party” had dispersed from the Newtown Athletic Club. Around 11:30 p.m., Oz told a crowd of 350 guests, “When all of the ballots are counted, we believe we will win this race.” Oz stayed on stage for only about two minutes with his family as he also thanked supporters.

As of 2 a.m. ET on Nov. 9, it was unknown how Oz’s campaign would respond to Fetterman’s declaration of victory; Oz last posted to Twitter just before 6 p.m. on Nov. 8. The Epoch Times has sought comment from Oz’s campaign.

Fetterman had a 2.74 percent lead over Oz. Fetterman had secured about 2.5 million votes, 136,698 more than Oz, as of about 3 a.m. ET on Nov. 9, according to Pennsylvania election reports.

In a victory speech before a cheering crowd in Pittsburgh, Fetterman repeated his campaign slogan: “Every county, every vote.” Then he said: “That’s exactly what happened. We jammed them up. We held the line. I never expected that we were going to turn these red counties blue, but we did what we needed.” Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, appeared animated and delivered his victory speech smoothly.

Behind the scenes, a number of vote-counting issues could threaten to tie up the final, official results of the election.

On Election Eve, Fetterman’s campaign filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force officials to count mail-in ballots with improper or missing dates. And on Election Day, officials in Philadelphia made an emergency change to a vote-counting process—a move they said they felt forced to make even though it could delay vote tallies by several days.

Final, unofficial vote tallies are not due until Nov. 15, and final certified results are to be filed by Nov. 28, Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth, Leigh Chapman, told reporters on Election Night.

Even without the last-minute drama over the voting procedures, the Oz-Fetterman race had been one of the most-watched contests this election season.

For starters, it featured two unconventional candidates: Oz, a TV celebrity and heart surgeon, versus the current Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, Fetterman, who suffered a major stroke that has hampered his ability to communicate since May.

Opinion polls of likely voters showed support for Fetterman began to plummet after he stammered his way through an Oct. 25 debate with Oz; many people began questioning whether he was well enough to seek office, let alone serve if elected.

The two men couldn’t have been more divergent in their policies and personal styles.

Oz painted himself as a brainy yet compassionate conservative, a son of immigrants who realized the American Dream through education and hard work. But because he has lived mostly in New Jersey, Oz has been criticized as a Johnny-come-lately to the Pennsylvania political landscape.

Fetterman, whose campaign wardrobe famously included shorts and hoodies, came across as an unvarnished, dyed-in-the-wool Pennsylvanian. But he has drawn derision for living off a trust fund and missing too much work in his public positions, first as mayor of Braddock, and later, as lieutenant governor.

Both candidates enjoyed support from political heavyweights in their respective parties: Former President Donald Trump endorsed Oz, while former President Barack Obama stumped for Fetterman.

Two weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s top election official already set the stage for delayed vote totals. Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman explained that state law prevents election workers from opening mail-in ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. Therefore, she said, final but unofficial tallies would not be available until a few days after the election.

On top of that, commissioners in Philadelphia, the Commonwealth’s most populous city, on Nov. 8 voted during an emergency meeting to reinstate a time-consuming process that can catch duplicate votes.

In that “reconciliation” process, election workers cross-reference absentee ballots with poll books that in-person voters sign.

But reconciliation interrupts vote counting, raising concerns that it conflicts with a new state law known as Act 88 that conditionalizes grants to state elections on counting continuing “without interruption.”

Earlier this year, commissioners voted to ax reconciliation—a move that led to a court battle. On Nov. 7, Common Pleas Judge Anne Marie Coyle denied a request for an injunction against rolling back reconciliation.

But city commissioners, in their decision, cited the judge’s ruling as a reason for the decision.

“And while we technically won the court case in Common Pleas Court, the opinion that was written was written in a way that we have no other choice but to go forward and reinstate reconciliation,” Commissioner Lisa Deeley, a Democrat, said.