the lieutenant governor briefly paused in the middle of several sentences and sometimes repeated words fettermans campaign chose erie because its voters are notorious for being unpredictable and indicative of statewide margins dressed in a hoodie and flanked by his wife gisele barreto fetterman at a convention center in erie fetterman discussed his stroke and threw jabs at his republican opponent dr mehmet oz in front of an energized crowd his campaign said exceeded 1300 people lynch said she hopes fettermans campaign aides ease the candidate back onto the trail and he didnt nail it said nierakto adding that he was committed to voting for fetterman in november its been far too long more john fetterman says his stroke leading up to senate race was preventable if you cant win erie county you cant win pennsylvania fetterman said on stage erie pa august 12 democratic senate candidate lt gov john fetterman dpa takes photos with supporters following a rally at the bayfront convention center o show more nate smallwoodgetty images keeping his remarks light on policy fetterman took several shots at oz whose campaign has made a daily habit of reminding voters of fettermans absence publicizing a running basement tracker are we in erie or have i fit 1400 people in my basement fetterman 100 able to run for pa senate after stroke tomorrow is three months ago my life could have ended he said remembering the moment he said his wife noticed he was having a stroke on the way to a campaign event he just has to have it he said my brother went back to work but there was a period of time where he struggled to get the right word and i think he is as sharp and as smart as ever she said i was looking for the fire i was looking for the passion i was looking for the enthusiasm and i was looking for him to nail it local leaders touted fettermans popularity in erie saying it was a city where he often campaigned and vacationed rita lynch 82 told abc news she was glad fetterman came but i think hes got to be careful because you could tell he was sweating a lot fetterman has spent more time here as an elected official than anyone i can remember since he first ran for senate in 2016 he added referring to fettermans first campaign for a us senate seat bob nierakto 81 of erie said he was disappointed in what he called fettermans lack of energy they kind of think about him as a member of this community said jim wertz chair of the erie county democratic party in a statement friday night ozs communications director brittany yanick called fetterman a noshow for the commonwealth and said pennsylvanians deserve answers now from fetterman donald trump won erie county in 2016 before it swung to joe biden four years later hes been here im waiting for him to come out so