PA Senate candidate John Fetterman won his first election by one vote – can he pull off another close-call victory?

The Senate candidate’s outsider persona has helped him win supporters, but his health struggles have provided detractors with plenty of ammunition

John Fetterman, 53, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and currently a candidate seeking the state’s open Senate seat, began his political journey by winning a mayoral election in his hometown of Braddock by a single vote.

Since then, Mr Fetterman has attracted national attention as an unorthodox, unapologetic progressive politician. In 2009, The Guardian dubbed him "America’s Coolest Mayor."

The Pennsylvanian ran for the state’s Senate seat in 2016, but never made it past the Democratic primaries, in which he finished in third place. That loss did not deter his political aspirations, however, as two years later he campaigned to replace the state’s lieutenant governor and won.

Mr Fetterman has served in that capacity ever since, and has once again set his sights on an open Pennsylvania Senate seat.

Since stepping in as Governor Tom Wolf’s second-in-command, Mr Fetterman has made headlines by pushing for statewide cannabis legalisation and for being a vocal critic of Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

His opposition to Mr Trump – along with his platform arguing that healthcare should be a human right, demanding criminal justice reform, increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and marijuana legalisation – has earned him a substantial following among leftist and liberals alike, as well as making him a frequent target of criticism from the right.

That criticism came to a head after a recent debate against his opponent, celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz. Mr Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, had trouble speaking during the debate. This led to critics claiming he was unfit for office due to his health complications – a position that many stroke survivors have pushed back against – and threatening the meager lead he held over Dr Oz heading into the midterm elections.

Mr Fetterman noted his difficulties with recovery, but said it would not impede his ability to serve his constituents if he’s elected.

"Sometimes I might miss some words, but I’ll always do the right thing in DC," he said.

He is married to Brazlian-American activist Gisele Barreto Fetterman, with whom he has three children. The family lives in a converted car dealership with their rescue dogs.

A New York Times-Siena College poll published this week showed Mr Fetterman leading Dr Oz by five percentage points.