John Fetterman, Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate, suffers stroke

Lieutenant governor and frontrunner in Democratic primary says he’s recovering and insists ‘campaign isn’t slowing down one bit’

John Fetterman: can this offbeat tattooed Democrat flip a Pennsylvania Senate seat?

John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and frontrunner in the state’s Democratic US Senate primary, suffered a stroke Friday, and is recovering, he said in a statement.

“On Friday, I wasn’t feeling well, so I went to the hospital to get checked out. I didn’t want to go – I didn’t think I had to – but Gisele insisted, and as usual, she was right,” Fetterman said in a statement posted to Twitter, referring to his wife. “I hadn’t been feeling well, but was so focused on the campaign that I ignored the signs and just kept going.”

“On Friday it finally caught up with me. I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” the statement continued.

“The good news is I’m feeling much better, and the doctors tell me I didn’t suffer any cognitive damage. I’m well on my way to a full recovery,” Fetterman said.

The doctors are keeping Fetterman in hospital for observation, he said in the statement, but “I should be out of here sometime soon.”

“The doctors have assured me that I’ll be able to get back on the trail, but first I need to take a minute, get some rest, and recover,” he also said. “There’s so much at stake in this race, and I’m going to be ready for the hard fight ahead.”

Fetterman insisted “our campaign isn’t slowing down one bit, and we are still on track to win this primary on Tuesday.”

Fetterman also posted a video from hospital where he is recovering.

Contributor

Victoria Bekiempis

The GuardianTramp

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