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LAST UPDATE | 9 Nov 2022
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR JOHN Fetterman has defeated Donald Trump-endorsed reality TV star Dr Mehmet Oz in a Pennsylvania senate race.
Fetterman received 50.2% of votes to Oz’s 47.4%, winning by 146,000 votes.
Democrats currently hold 46 seats compared to 47 for the GOP, while five states are still counting ballots.
Fetterman will replace Pat Toomey, a Republican who opted against seeking reelection, meaning his victory represents a significant gain for Democrats in a Senate that was evenly split at the beginning of the night.
His lead over Oz had narrowed in recent weeks, a change that coincided with narratives around the lieutenant governor’s health.
Fetterman suffered an ischemic stroke in May of this year, leaving him with symptoms of an auditory processing disorder, and he currently uses closed captioning as an aid to read speech in real time.
Republicans zeroed in on Fetterman’s health issues following a televised debate in which Fetterman spoke haltingly, occasionally pausing at length to find words.
Fetterman’s medical team has asserted that he has suffered no lasting cognitive damage as a result of his stroke.
In the week leading up the election, Oprah Winfrey, who launched Oz’s television career, endorsed Fetterman over her former colleague.
At around 1am local time, Fetterman tweeted: “It’s official. I will be the next U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. We bet on the people of Pennsylvania – and you didn’t let us down And I won’t let you down. Thank you.”
Fetterman's victory speech pic.twitter.com/JDs1Hfd2RX
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 9, 2022
Fetterman, notable for his hulking 6’9″ frame, is part of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, championing causes such as marriage equality, reproductive rights, legal marijuana and criminal reform.
He has also said he would vote to end to the filibuster in the Senate – a mechanism used stall and kill legislation that cannot meet a 60-vote threshold in the 100-seat chamber.
Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race has also been decided in favour of the Democrats.
Josh Shapiro beat out Doug Mastriano – a Trump-endorsed candidate who denies the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, and who was on the grounds of the Capitol during the 6 January riots.
Expectations of a “red wave” have thus far failed to materialise, though Republicans have already locked in some significant successes. Most notably, author and former venture capitalist JD Vance has defeated Democrat congressman Tim Ryan to claim a senate seat in the swing state of Ohio.
For more updates on the tightest races of the 2022 midterms, head to our liveblog.
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I don’t understand US politics. Not the mechanism, the voting, the House and Senate, I get that. But how a democrstic ‘system’ can be so blatantly undemocratic leaves me bemused. And how the whole system has become so partisan and divisive over the last 30 years leaves me cold and worried.
@sean o’dhubhghaill: Your claim that you understand the US political system is not supported by your post. America is a democratic republic where citizens vote for representatives from different political parties, just like in Ireland. The US unlike Ireland has a strong executive branch headed by the President who is elected by the people, unlike Ireland where back room deals determine who is Toaseach. The US Senate is a true representative body unlike the Irish Senead which has appointed members.
@Don Hogan: …until the electoral college comes along and votes someone in that nobody voted for…
@Don Hogan: that’s not true. They should get rid of the electoral college. Trump lost the public vote in 2016 and still won. Nearly did it again in 2023
@sean o’dhubhghaill: Your claim that you understand the US political system is not supported by your post. America is a democratic republic where citizens vote for representatives from different political parties, just like in Ireland. The US unlike Ireland has a strong executive branch headed by the President who is elected by the people, unlike Ireland where back room deals determine who is Taoiseach. The US Senate is a true representative body unlike the Irish Senead which has appointed members.
@Don Hogan: Gerrymandering is legal in the US.
In the US, unlike here were Electoral boundaries and Constituencies are drawn up by the Constituency Commission who are neutral, US politicians draw up the election boundaries.
https://www.constituency-commission.ie/
As a result the Electoral boundaries in the US often end up particularly bent out of shape, snaking across the landscape from Blue city suburbs out to rural Red areas, boundaries that get ever more bizarre the longer one party ends up in control of the mapping pen.
As result, it is almost impossible to elect a politician from the opposing party, whose party did not draw up the electoral district, in severely gerrymandered districts. Yes both parties are guilty of this.
That is just one example of the US’ flawed democracy.
@Don Hogan: the first line in Sean’s comment is, “I don’t understand [...]“. You do know that the U.S.A. is considered a flawed democracy, don’t you?
@Patrick Kelly: you’re a year ahead of us all dude :)
@Don Hogan: our proportional representation is factually a more democratic system then that used by the US. That in itself makes Ireland more of a democratic republic. But the most telling is the constitution which the US public have no direct say over.
@Don Hogan: in the USA private groups and special interest groups can lobby for favours for cash. In Ireland that gets you a criminal record and prison sentence. In the USA if you live in a sparsely populated Midwestern state your vote counts more than if you live in a large city. In the USA the GOP regularly make it difficult for minorities to vote and this is legal. Nothing democratic about the USAs system
@Don Hogan: Honestly, that has got to be one of the most ill informed comments I have ever had the misfortune to read regarding the US senate. California with 55m people elects two senators. Alabama with 5 m elects two senators. How is that remotely representative?
@Gerard Carthy: Most bicameral upper houses are not a linear representation of votes cast. The Seanad has members who are not all directly elected, Westminster has a House of Lords or upper house that are not directly elected.
I think his point was that ‘at least’ every US Senator in congress is directly elected by the State’s voters for a six year fixed term. That being said, if a US Senator vacates their senate seat during tenure though death or resignation then that State’s Governor gets to decide who takes the vacant senate seat for the remainder of the term
No system is perfect and Republics are not actually ‘true’ democracies in every sense of the meaning of democracy
Hon Big John!
Dr Oz lololololololololol
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