HARRISBURG, Pa. — Here’s what you need to know about Pennsylvania elections on Oct. 19:
Fetterman releases updated medical report
Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman released an updated medical report from his primary care physician, Dr. Clifford Chen of UPMC. The report states Fetterman is recovering well from his May stroke and had normal readings for blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen level. The report adds Fetterman “has no work restrictions and can work full duty in public office.”
Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, who is a medical doctor, responded to the report.
“I’m thrilled. Good news for him,” Oz said. “But that’s for me, not the big issue. I’m not worried about John’s health, thankfully, now. I’m worried about what’s going on in his head in terms of ideas.”
Oz also responded to allegations over his treatment of animals following a report by Jezebel that his experiments conducted at Columbia University Institute of Comparative Medicine between 1989 and 2010 led to the deaths of hundreds of dogs. The report does not cite any evidence that Oz personally mistreated dogs, but as “principal investigator” of the research, Oz’s name appears on the published results.
“I’m the head of the institute. My name’s on a lot of forms,” Oz said. “At no point did I go and do any of the things that they are claiming to dogs. In fact, there’s no evidence that I did and there’s no evidence there were any settlements. That’s completely manufactured.”
Campaign spending record
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro’s campaign has broken the state record for the most campaign spending, beating the last record set by Ed Rendell’s 2001-02 campaign.
Shapiro’s campaign has reported $44 million in spending, including in-kind donations, according to campaign finance reports.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano’s campaign has reported $3 million in spending or about 7%su of his opponent’s spending.
None of the money spent by individual campaigns includes the tens of millions of dollars in ads funded by outside Super PACs.
Deadlines
Some important dates to keep in mind:
Oct. 24: Last day to register to vote.
Nov. 1: Last day to request a mail-in ballot. You can apply online here.
Nov. 8: Election Day, and last day ballots can arrive at county elections offices.
You can find more information on candidates, important dates, and how to register to vote on our Election Guide page.