Democrat John Fetterman has won the race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, defeating Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Mehmet Oz, who conceded on Wednesday morning.
Oz called Fetterman at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the campaigns said. He wished Fetterman luck, adding that campaigning across Pennsylvania “was the honor of a lifetime.”
“We are facing big problems as a country, and we need everyone to put down their partisan swords and focus on getting the job done,” Oz said. “With bold leadership that brings people together, we can create real change.”
Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor, claimed victory after the Associated Press called the race just before 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
After suffering a stroke in May and being sidelined from the campaign trail until August, Fetterman faced questions about his health from his Republican opponent for months and more speculation after he struggled to complete sentences during the first and only debate ahead of the election.
But in brief victory remarks during a watch party in Pittsburgh, Fetterman credited his campaign strategy of reaching out and traveling to every county for the victory. He also mentioned issues he campaigned on, including raising the minimum wage, protecting abortion access, and supporting working people.
At rallies and in conversations with voters leading up to the general election, Fetterman said the stroke has made him more empathetic and has argued that everyone should have access to healthcare, something he says saved his life. He has described his campaign as fighting for anyone who has been “knocked down that ever got back up.”
“This race is for the future of every community across Pennsylvania, for every small town or person that felt left behind, for every job that has been lost, for every factory that was ever closed, and for every person that worked hard but never gets ahead,” he said.
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