Fetterman defeats Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race

"I never expected us to turn these red counties blue," he remarked, "but we did what we had to do."

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman defeated Republican challenger Mehmet Oz, giving Democrats control of the seat presently held by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.

Fetterman's victory is critical for Democrats because it might be their sole Senate gain this campaign. With Democratic incumbents facing challenging campaigns in other battleground states, a victory in Pennsylvania boosts the party's chances of retaining its no-mistakes 50-50 majority for another two years.

"I am very humbled," Fetterman told fans after the race was called. "We kept our ground." "I never imagined we'd turn these red counties blue, but we did what we had to do."

Both parties saw Pennsylvania as the frontline for their chamber-winning strategy. Despite the fact that Oz was outspent and outraised by Fetterman, the Senate campaign was the most costly this season, with outside money flooding in. (If the Georgia contest goes to a December runoff, it might still win the crown.)

Fetterman defeated Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) in their party's primary, giving progressives a victory. And he led in surveys for much of the year against Oz, but the campaign became a nailbiter in the final weeks when Oz looked to bridge the gap courtesy to a cavalry of GOP groups spending massively against him.

Fetterman's campaign used a multipronged strategy to defeat Oz, portraying the wealthy celebrity doctor as out-of-touch and focusing on his longtime New Jersey residency while also following national Democrats who used the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade reversal to try to bring Oz's abortion position into the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Oz and his allies spent the last stretch of the campaign focusing on crime, echoing a message that the party utilised in congressional contests around the country. MAGA Inc., a super PAC created by supporters of Donald Trump, accused Fetterman of wanting "ruthless murders, muggers, and rapists back on our streets."

In a reflection of the times, their campaign was regularly played out online in a meme war, including a popular video of Oz walking around a grocery shop looking for supplies for crudité. (Oz subsequently described it as a joke.)

However, the Democrat's campaign was given a curveball when Fetterman had a stroke in May and returned to the campaign trail in August. Soon after, Oz's campaign issued remarks criticising Fetterman's diet and accused him of being unfit to argue.

Oz sought to separate himself from the insults, saying NBC News that such language would never be used in connection to a patient.

And Fetterman proceeded to address public worries about his health, running an ad about it and disclosing medical records.

The two eventually conducted their first and only debate on Oct. 25, during which Fetterman obviously struggled with responses to several questions, leaving some Democrats groaning.

In his victory address, Fetterman reprised a statement he had used in answer to concerns about his debate performance during the previous two weeks.

"This campaign has always been about fighting for everyone who has ever been knocked down and gotten back up," he declared, drawing cheers.

Pennsylvania was one of six vacant seats Republicans were defending this year as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saw a slew of his members, including some of his most dependable supporters, go.