Fetterman approaches Biden-level unpopularity in home state: poll

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has consistently struggled through public events due to the aftermath of a stroke he suffered more than a year ago, is falling to President Biden’s unpopularity level in their home state of Pennsylvania. 

According to a Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday, half of Keystone State voters disapprove of Fetterman’s job handling, while only 39% approve. President Biden, a Scranton native, has a worse approval rating in the state, with 57% of Pennsylvanians disapproving of his job handling as president, while 39% approve.

Voters view Fetterman much worse than his fellow statewide Democrats, the poll shows. Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro garners a 57% job approval rating, while 23% disapprove. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, meanwhile, also earns good marks from voters, with 44% approval and 32% who disapprove of the job he’s doing in office. The remaining percentages for each politician reflect individuals who did not offer an opinion. 

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Fetterman has floundered through Senate hearings and other public events since taking office, often coming across incoherent due to his injuries from the stroke. His office has repeatedly slammed critics for drawing attention to the issue and maintains he is fine outside of auditory processing problems. 

The issue exploded when Jeff Stein, a Washington Post economics reporter, admitted in May to amplifying a misquote Fetterman’s office provided to him. Meanwhile, Fetterman’s office has quietly and significantly altered the senator’s transcribed comments on several occasions to make him sound more coherent, Fox News Digital previously reported.

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After spending over a month in a hospital for clinical depression treatment, Fetterman revealed his depression was “in full force” during his first few weeks in the Senate.

He initially suffered the stroke in May 2022 while campaigning in the Pennsylvania Senate race, resulting in auditory processing issues. 

Fetterman described his only midterm debate against Dr. Mehmet Oz as similar to “trying to run a marathon with a broken ankle.” During the debate, Fetterman was granted the use of a closed captioning system so that he would be able to read the questions.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.