BLUE BELL, Pa. — It was a risky game, contrasting a midterm election rally with opening day for Philadelphia Eagles football. But the bet was that voters in this blue-collar suburb would care more about abortion rights than Jalen Hurts’ ability to hit receivers down the field. “Thank you for missing the game today, for that,” Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s campaign staffer Annie Wu Henry told those who decided to spend Sunday afternoon in a gym listening to a pro-reproductive speech by a Democrat. rights and abolishing the filibuster. Ultimately, the Eagles’ defense held on for a 38-35 win in Detroit. And at the Blue Bell, a capacity-breaking crowd turned out to hear Fetterman address supporters in suburban Philly for the first time since he returned to the campaign trail last month after suffering a stroke in May. In total, more than 3,000 people attended, the campaign said, some wearing their favorite player’s jersey. Most were women. A male anti-abortion activist also appeared, helping to personify the theme of the day’s event. Chris Hoyler, an emergency room nurse in the city, said she is driven to vote this November because of the threat Senate Republican control could have on abortion rights nationwide now that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. More than a dozen states have already banned the procedure. “It hurts women — it kills women — to not be able to get the medical care they need, when they need it,” Hoyler said as she waited in a line around Montgomery County Community College. “They’re like dictators, trying to tell women how to live their lives. It’s so empowering. And shameful.” The rally, which coincided with a Philadelphia Eagles game, drew a largely female crowd of more than 3,000. Charles Davis/Insider Rally attendance does not necessarily equate to electoral success. Thousands of people also heard former President Donald Trump speak earlier this month outside Scranton with Fetterman’s GOP opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz. But pollsters have also picked up on a shift in momentum since the June court ruling turned almost every election into a referendum on choice: Democrats are now seen as likely to hold the Senate in a cycle that typically results in heavy losses for the incumbent’s party . “You know what? Don’t piss women off,” Dayle Steinberg, CEO of Planned Parenthood Southeastern PA, said in a speech at the rally. He received the loudest cheers when he spoke about the toddler exemption, which would theoretically allow a slim Democratic majority to pass a federal law protecting abortion. “We’re looking at what abortion bans around the country are doing and what they were designed to do,” he said. “They force women to get pregnant and give birth. Forced pregnancy is what we’re working on.” Fetterman, running to replace retiring Republican Sen. Pat Tomei, could help Democrats actually expand their upper house majority. If elected to serve there, he said Sunday, he would fight to codify abortion rights. “You know what I would do if I was that 51st vote? Get rid of the filibuster,” Fetterman said, referring to the Senate rule that requires 60 votes for most legislation to pass. The mention of the rule drew almost as much outrage from the crowd as the name of his opponent, Oz, who has faced repeated attacks from the Fetterman camp about where he really lives. A longtime New Jersey resident, Oz moved with his in-laws out of Philadelphia last year to run for the Senate, though he has since been accused of returning to his New York mansion to record a campaign video. In return, the celebrity doctor’s campaign has stepped up attacks on the health of the Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, who suffered a stroke shortly before winning the Democratic primary. “If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke,” Rachel Tripp, a spokeswoman for Oz, told Insider last month. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has vowed to be the “51st vote” for abortion rights in the US Senate. Charles Davis/Insider Sidelined until August, Fetterman — still suffering from auditory processing issues related to his health scare — on Sunday tried to make his recovery relevant. Speaking with obvious thought, occasionally pausing to find the right word, the Senate candidate opened his 11-minute speech with a question. Who, he asked, has ever known someone who has faced a major health problem? Practically everyone, of course. “I sure have,” Fetterman said. “And I hope—I really hope for each of you—that you haven’t had a doctor in your life mocking it, trashing it, telling you you’re not fit to serve. But unfortunately, I have a doctor in my life who does that.” This may be a smart way to prevent personal attacks in a state where nearly 50,000 people a year are hospitalized for strokes and where heart disease is the leading killer. But for Lucy Thimme, a recent college graduate from nearby Chester County, her decision to attend Sunday’s rally was all about politics and the prospect that Fetterman could be the senator to help her. “It’s an opportunity to flip a seat in the Senate. And then we can have the ability to pass bills and laws, for example, to preserve people’s rights to reproductive freedom,” Timm said. As for her thoughts on his rival, Dr. Oz: “Well, I guess the obvious answer is that he’s from New Jersey.” Got a news tip? Email this reporter: [email protected]
