Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the leading Democratic candidate for the open Senate seat in November, said Sunday he suffered a stroke just days ahead of the primary election.
Mr. Fetterman, 52, said in a statement posted on Twitter that he went to the hospital Friday at the urging of his wife, Gisele Barrato Fetterman, because he was not feeling well but had shrugged things off to stay on the campaign trail.
He learned he had a stroke.
“I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long,” Mr. Fetterman said in a statement.
“Fortunately, Gisele spotted the symptoms and got me to the hospital within minutes. The amazing doctors here were able to quickly remove the clot, reversing the stroke. They got my heart under control as well,” he wrote.
Mr. Fetterman said in his Sunday statement that he was feeling better, that the doctors told him he “didn’t suffer cognitive damage,” and that he was en route to making a “full recovery.”
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Mr. Fetterman is the front-runner in a four-person Democratic field. He is running for retiring Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey’s seat.
“I’m going to be ready for the hard fight ahead,” Mr. Fetterman said. “But our campaign isn’t slowing down one bit, and we are still on track to win this primary on Tuesday, and flip this Senate seat in November.”
Mr. Fetterman also thanked the “kick-ass staff and doctors” from Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health and shared a video of him with his wife on Twitter.
Rep. Conor Lamb, Mr. Fetterman’s biggest rival in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, wished Mr. Fetterman the best on social media.
“I just found out on live TV that Lieutenant Governor Fetterman suffered a stroke. Hayley and I are keeping John and his family in our prayers and wishing him a full and speedy recovery,” he tweeted.
Mr. Fetterman is leading the field for Tuesday’s Democratic primary, polling at 53% to Mr. Lamb’s 14% in a poll conducted by Franklin & Marshall from April 20 through May 1 with a 4.4% margin of error. The poll of 792 registered voters, including 357 Democrats, showed nearly a quarter, 22%, remained undecided.
• Victor Morton contributed to this report.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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