Dr. Mehmet Oz is calling for Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to participate in up to six Senate debates this month after his Democratic opponent agreed to only one in November.
"John Fetterman's misinformation campaign is busy tonight, here's the reality: I have committed to 6 debates in September and October. Fetterman has committed to 0," Oz, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat in November, wrote Thursday on Twitter.
"Absentee ballots can go out September 19th," he continued. "We need to be debating early and often."
During an interview with Axios earlier in the day, Oz struck a similar tone against Fetterman, telling the outlet he would not accept a mid-October debate until his opponent agrees to one sooner.
He also emphasized his desire to debate Fetterman before early voting begins on Sept. 19.
"The first debate has to be in September so we can allow voters to know who their candidates are right now," Oz said. "Pick one of the debates in the next two, three weeks. So, we can get this ball rolling."
Oz's comments follow an official declaration Wednesday by Fetterman, who agreed to debate his Republican opponent in mid-to-late October after months of staying quiet.
"We're absolutely going to debate Dr. Oz, and that was really always our intent to do that," Fetterman told Politico. "It [has] only ever been about addressing some of the lingering issues of the stroke, the auditory processing, and we're going to be able to work that out."
Fetterman had a stroke in May.
Fetterman currently leads Oz by 6.5 percentage points in a RealClearPolitics average of polling conducted in the race thus far. However, a recent Emerson College survey has the race closer — showing the Republican nominee within four points.
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