Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a defibrillator implanted in 2001. He finished two terms within the White House, including a hard-fought re-election campaign in 2004.
“Doctors have told me I would like to proceed to rest, eat healthy, exercise, and give attention to my recovery, and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Mr. Fetterman said. “It can take some more time to get back on the campaign trail like I used to be within the lead-up to the first. It’s frustrating — all of the more so because that is my very own fault — but bear with me, I would like slightly more time. I’m not quite back to one hundred pc yet, but I’m getting closer day-after-day.”
When he does return to the campaign trail, it appears his Republican opponent will probably be Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity television physician. With a statewide recount still underway on Friday within the Republican Senate primary and no official race call, David McCormick conceded the race to Dr. Oz.
Ed Rendell, a Democratic former governor of the state and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in an interview on Friday that he had no qualms about Mr. Fetterman’s fitness to serve. He downplayed how much Mr. Fetterman’s health would weigh on the minds of voters, saying that he didn’t think it will be a problem.
“After I was governor, the Republicans used to say I used to be one cheese steak away from having a heart attack, and I never did,” said Mr. Rendell.
Nancy Patton Mills, the chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Democrats, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on Friday. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee didn’t immediately comment on Friday.
Mr. Fetterman has been off the campaign trail since his stroke and has occasionally released transient videos since then. In an indication that Mr. Fetterman was moving back toward some political engagement, Senator Bob Casey, Democrat of Pennsylvania, wrote on Twitter that he’d had a “virtual double date” with Mr. Fetterman and his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, earlier Friday afternoon.
“Looking forward to many more on the campaign trail this summer!” Mr. Casey wrote.
Gina Kolata and Neil Vigdor contributed reporting.
