Fetterman defeats Dr. Oz, flipping key senate seat

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman narrowly defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz on Tuesday, flipping a crucial Republican-held Senate seat as Democrats look to maintain control of the upper chamber.

Speaking to supporters after the race was called in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Fetterman said his dedicated campaign strategy of reaching every Pennsylvania county, regardless of past hostility to Democratic candidates, was key to his victory.

“We launched this campaign almost two years ago, and we had our slogan. It’s on every one of those signs right now: ‘Every county, every vote,'” Fetterman declared. “And that’s exactly what happened. We jammed them up. I never expected that we were going to turn these red counties blue, but we did what we needed to do and we had that conversation across every one of those counties.”

“That’s why I’ll be the next U.S senator from Pennsylvania,” said Fetterman, who made a point of campaigning in typically Republican-friendly neighborhoods and, as a result, significantly outperformed President Joe Biden in a number of red counties.

On Twitter, Fetterman wrote that “we bet on the people of Pennsylvania—and you didn’t let us down.”

“And I won’t let you down,” he added. “Thank you.”

Fetterman’s victory was officially announced as Senate races in other critical states, from Georgia to Wisconsin to Nevada, remained too close to call, leaving control of the upper chamber uncertain.

Meanwhile, Democrats appeared to be outperforming expectations in House races and gubernatorial contests. In Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District, progressive Summer Lee fought off a last-minute onslaught of AIPAC spending to defeat her Republican opponent.

And Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, defeated Doug Mastriano—an election denier backed by former President Donald Trump—in the race to become the battleground state’s next governor.

Originally published at Commondreams.org.