Oz taunts Fetterman with announcement of sixth debate

GOP Pennsylvania Senate hopeful Dr. Mehmet Oz is taunting Democratic candidate John Fetterman for loosely committing to a debate following weeks of pressure from his campaign.

Oz agreed to participate in a proposed Oct. 19 debate on CBS21 in Harrisburg, his campaign announced Thursday. “This is the SIXTH debate invitation accepted by the Oz campaign,” it said. “The Fetterman campaign has accepted zero debate invitations.”

Fetterman confirmed Wednesday that the Democrat plans to partake in a televised debate sometime in mid-to-late October but did not discuss specifics.

The Oz campaign called on Fetterman to provide more detail and suggested the debate should take place before then, noting that early voting will be underway at that point in the race.

Oz has repeatedly taken aim at Fetterman for not committing to debates in September as the lieutenant governor continues to recover from a stroke, with the GOP candidate looking to draw Fetterman’s ability to serve in Congress into question.

FETTERMAN AGREES TO DEBATE OZ IN OCTOBER

“Doctor Oz firmly believes in the Democratic process. He believes that voters should hear their candidates debate and take tough questions from reporters. John Fetterman either disdains the media, and thinks they don’t deserve the opportunity to question him about his radical record, or he’s continuing to lie about his health condition,” said Brittany Yanick, Oz communications director, in a statement.

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“John Fetterman’s statement yesterday was another laughable attempt to distract from the fact that John Fetterman has zero real plans to debate. He says he ‘wants’ to debate … but he won’t say where. He won’t say when. He won’t say how. It’s a big joke, and everyone knows it. You can always tell when the Fetterman campaign is lying: it’s whenever they say that John Fetterman is going to debate.”

Recent polling indicates Fetterman has an edge over Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race, a key battleground that could decide which party holds the majority in the upper chamber next year.