Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, the front-runner for his state’s Democratic Senate nomination, said on Sunday that he had had a stroke on Friday and was recovering.
“I had a stroke that was brought on by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” he said in an announcement. “The amazing doctors here were capable of quickly and completely remove the clot, reversing the stroke, they got my heart under control as well.”
The incident has kept him off the campaign trail for the ultimate weekend before Tuesday’s primary election in one in all the nation’s most closely watched Senate contests. It was unclear when he would return to in-person campaigning.
“The excellent news is I’m feeling a lot better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage,” he said within the statement from Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital. “I’m well on my solution to a full recovery.”
“They’re keeping me here for now for remark, but I must be out of here sometime soon,” he added.
Understand the Pennsylvania Primary Election
The crucial swing state will hold its primary on May 17, with key races for a U.S. Senate seat and the governorship.
Mr. Fetterman had been scheduled to host a meet-and-greet in Lancaster County, Pa., on Friday morning, but his spokesman, Joe Calvello, said on the time that the team decided to cancel the event because “John was not feeling well this morning so we’re taking the mandatory precautions.”
The campaign canceled events across the state on Friday evening, Saturday morning and again on Sunday, but gave scant information in regards to the state of Mr. Fetterman’s health over the weekend. Asked why the campaign waited days to share the news that a significant Senate candidate had been hospitalized with a stroke, a matter of intense public interest, Mr. Calvello replied, “John’s condition was evolving in real time since Friday. We desired to put out something once we had a clearer picture of his health.”
Within the statement and in a transient accompanying video, Mr. Fetterman said he had been feeling unwell and that his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, had insisted he go to the hospital to get checked out.
The event upended his ability to have interaction voters in-person in the course of the most intense stretch of the race. Still, he has been leading his most outstanding Democratic rival, Representative Conor Lamb, by double digits in sparse public polling.
“I just came upon on live TV that Lieutenant Governor Fetterman suffered a stroke,” Mr. Lamb wrote on Twitter. Referring to his wife, he continued, “Hayley and I are keeping John and his family in our prayers and wishing him a full and speedy recovery.”
State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, a Senate candidate from Philadelphia, said his “prayers are with him and his family as he recovers from this stroke. I stay up for seeing him back on the campaign trail soon.”
And Mehmet Oz, the celebrity doctor and Republican Senate candidate, said that he had “cared for atrial fibrillation patients and witnessed the miracles of contemporary medicine within the treatment of strokes.”
“I’m thankful that you simply received care so quickly,” he said. “My whole family is praying in your speedy recovery.”
Understand the 2022 Midterm Elections
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Why are these midterms so necessary? This 12 months’s races could tip the balance of power in Congress to Republicans, hobbling President Biden’s agenda for the second half of his term. They may even test former President Donald J. Trump’s role as a G.O.P. kingmaker. Here’s what to know:
What are the midterm elections? Midterms happen two years after a presidential election, on the midpoint of a presidential term — hence the name. This 12 months, a whole lot of seats are up for grabs, including all 435 House seats, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 of fifty governorships.
What do the midterms mean for Biden? With slim majorities in Congress, Democrats have struggled to pass Mr. Biden’s agenda. Republican control of the House or Senate would make the president’s legislative goals a near-impossibility.
What are the races to observe? Only a handful of seats will determine if Democrats maintain control of the House over Republicans, and a single state could shift power within the 50-50 Senate. Listed here are 10 races to observe within the House and Senate, in addition to several key governor’s contests.
When are the important thing races going down? The first gauntlet is already underway. Closely watched races in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia might be held in May, with more going down through the summer. Primaries run until September before the final election on Nov. 8.
Go deeper. What’s redistricting and the way does it affect the midterm elections? How does polling work? How do you register to vote? We’ve got more answers to your pressing midterm questions here.
Throughout the campaign, Mr. Fetterman’s blunt-spoken liberal politics and penchant for wearing shorts and hoodies at public events appear to have resonated with much of the Democratic base.
“If any person thinks I’m smarter if I’m in a suit, so be it,” Mr. Fetterman said in an interview on Thursday after an event in York, his hometown, where he had given an lively stump speech and worked a crowded bar. “I’d reasonably have people know what they’re getting and that is who I’m.”
Senator Ben Ray Luján, a Recent Mexico Democrat, had a stroke earlier this 12 months and has spoken about his difficult path to recovery. It was not immediately clear what Mr. Fetterman’s rehabilitation process would seem like.
“The doctors have assured me that I’ll have the ability to get back on the trail, but first I want to take a minute, get some rest, and recuperate,” he said.
