Fetterman Declared Debate Winner by Pennsylvania Paper, Sparking Ridicule

A Pennsylvania newspaper has been mocked after its commentators declared John Fetterman the winner of Tuesday night's Senate election debate.

Fetterman faced off against Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Republican hoping to give the GOP control of the Senate.

The pair clashed over abortion, the minimum wage and fracking. Fetterman, the state's lieutenant governor, had a stroke in May and struggled to communicate clearly at some points in the discussion.

After the debate, The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg tweeted: "Tragically, after tonight's disastrous debate performance by John Fetterman, Dr. Oz, who is a huckster and a scumbag, is going to win that Senate race, which will probably flip the Senate for the Rs. I feel sorry for Fetterman and for all of us who will be stuck with the fallout."

TV host Piers Morgan described the debate as "painful to watch" and said Fetterman should withdraw, because "he is clearly unfit to either take part in TV debates or be a fully functional senator."

However, a survey of 11 political commentators by The Philadelphia Inquirer concluded that Fetterman had narrowly won the debate.

The experts, mostly columnists or contributing writers for the paper, gave Fetterman an average score of 4.3 out of 10, ahead of Oz on 4.1.

One of those surveyed was Will Bunch, an opinion columnist for the Inquirer.

He gave Fetterman 6 out of 10, writing: "The directness of Fetterman's support for a living wage, unions, college debt relief, compassionate immigration policies, and ensuring reproductive rights showed this was a debate between a candidate with a heart issue and an opponent who barely has one."

Bunch gave Oz 2 out of 10, claiming the former TV doctor "leaned into" his reputation as a "snake-oil salesman."

Jenice Armstrong, another Inquirer columnist, gave Fetterman just 2 out of 10, saying his "stumbling and verbal gaffes made the debate a complete cringefest from beginning to end."

Oz got 3 out of 10 from Armstrong, who said the Donald Trump-endorsed Republican "came off like a slick salesman."

However, the Inquirer consensus that Fetterman had narrowly won was mocked on social media.

John Fund, who writes for the conservative National Review, tweeted: "The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial writers, columnists and contributors collectively thought Fetterman performed better than Oz in debate. Seriously."

Elisa Martinez, a former Republican candidate in New Mexico, shared Fund's tweet, adding the comment: "If you ever wondered about journalists lying & covering for Dems."

A CBS News/YouGov poll, conducted before the debate and released on Wednesday, reported that Fetterman had a small lead over Oz among Pennsylvania voters, by 51 percent to 49 percent. The Republican has gained 3 points since September.

Newsweek has contacted the Fetterman and Oz campaigns for comment.