Mr. Fetterman is scheduled to seem at a marketing campaign rally Saturday in Scranton, within the state’s northeast. It is going to be the most recent of about 10 marketing campaign appearances his workforce says he has held since mid-August, when he returned to the marketing campaign path after taking about three months to get better from the stroke.

The race is one in every of a handful of extremely aggressive contests that can decide management of the Senate, the place every occasion now holds 50 seats and Democrats run the chamber solely as a result of Vice President Kamala Harris can break ties. For Democrats, shedding management of 1 or each chambers would make it considerably more durable to regulate the Washington agenda, approve President Biden’s judicial nominees and cross the occasion’s most popular laws.

Mr. Fetterman has led persistently in public-opinion surveys, with many current polls exhibiting him with a single-digit lead in a carefully divided state—Mr. Biden gained it by about 1.2 proportion factors in 2020. The competition has drawn tens of tens of millions of {dollars} in promoting from each side.

Many elections function a debate in regards to the quantity and timing of debates. However Mr. Fetterman’s acknowledgment that his stroke has left him with communication issues—however no cognitive impairment, his marketing campaign says—has raised the query of how a lot Pennsylvania voters have to see him in an unfiltered setting to guage his capabilities.

The 2 campaigns have agreed that Mr. Fetterman throughout the debate can view displays with closed-captioning of the questions and solutions to assist him navigate what he has mentioned are occasional issues with language processing. “The one lingering problem is, from time to time, I’ll have auditory processing [problems] and I would miss a phrase from time to time, or I would mush two phrases collectively,’’ Mr. Fetterman mentioned in describing his well being this month on MSNBC. He mentioned he was informed he would have “a full restoration over the subsequent a number of months.’’

The Ozcampaign says that, given the closed-captioning settlement and different lodging, Mr. Fetterman ought to comply with a number of debates, together with some earlier than Sept. 19, when state regulation permits early voting to start. Mr. Ozalso says that the October debate ought to final 90 minutes, quite than the 60 minutes the lieutenant governor needs.

“It’s completely insulting to the voters to do one debate,’’ mentioned Barney Keller, a marketing campaign strategist for Mr. Oz. “It raises questions on how sick he actually is and whether or not he is ready to serve within the Senate.’’

The Fetterman marketing campaign says that Senate debates in Pennsylvania are usually held in mid-to-late-October and that 83% of ballots have been solid after Oct. 25 within the 2020 election.

A current CBS Information/YouGov ballot discovered that 59% of Pennsylvania voters believed Mr. Fetterman was wholesome sufficient to serve within the Senate, whereas 41% mentioned he wasn’t.

Mr. Fetterman, 53 years previous, suffered a stroke on Might 13, 4 days earlier than the Democratic major that he gained handily. He watched the outcomes from a hospital room and was absent from the marketing campaign path for about three months. Since mid-August, he has appeared at about 10 public occasions, by his marketing campaign’s rely, and lately started speaking to media, one outlet at a time, generally over video utilizing closed-captioning.

However Mr. Fetterman hasn’t held a press convention. He has generally jumbled phrases throughout his appearances, as when he referred to as on Mr. Ozrecently to hitch him in pushing to boost the $7.25 federal minimal wage.

“Now we have to make it possible for we tackle to an obscene minimal wage, and the way can we, now working for the Senate and also you personal 10 houses, and you aren’t not unwilling to boost a minimal wage above 7 {dollars} and 25 {dollars} an hour,’’ Mr. Fetterman mentioned on MSNBC.

Ozcampaign spokeswoman Brittany Yanick mentioned the Republican “helps a better minimal wage when employment and financial situations warrant growing the minimal wage.”

Loretta Spielvogel, a Democratic commissioner in largely Republican Lawrence County within the western a part of the state, mentioned she was satisfied that Mr. Fetterman is wholesome after seeing him converse at a current marketing campaign cease. “He didn’t halt in his speech,’’ she mentioned.

Ms. Spielvogel mentioned she understood that undecided voters would possibly need multiple likelihood to see Mr. Fetterman on the controversy stage. “Most likely, two would have been higher,’’ she mentioned.

Invoice Bretz, a Republican state committee member and county commissioner in Westmoreland County, close to Pittsburgh, mentioned Mr. Fetterman’s well being was a authentic problem however not an important one.

“I feel the larger query continues to be concerning his document and his private beliefs,’’ mentioned Mr. Bretz, who says Mr. Fetterman’s progressive agenda is a poor match for his Republican-leaning county. He added: ”I don’t care if he’s a Navy SEAL. He nonetheless doesn’t have the philosophy that I would like.’’

Well being issues that result in absences can have huge implications within the Senate. Democratic Sens. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland each had strokes this 12 months however returned to work after a number of weeks. In prior years, Sens. Tim Johnson, a Democrat from South Dakota, and Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois had strokes that led to longer absences.

Mr. Fetterman’s marketing campaign mentioned he suffered an ischemic stroke, through which a blood clot or different particle blocks blood vessels to the mind, presumably depriving cells of oxygen. The marketing campaign mentioned he was handled by a process referred to as thrombectomy, which may take away the blockage. Medical doctors mentioned the process, if carried out shortly after a stroke, can result in a full restoration.

Mr. Fetterman’s workforce mentioned he’s strolling a number of miles every day, and it has pointed to regular outcomes on two assessments used to verify for cognitive delays as proof of his cognitive restoration.

Shahid Nimjee, a neurological surgeon and co-director of the Stroke Middle at Ohio State College’s Wexner Medical Middle, mentioned these assessments, whereas helpful, aren’t usually used to evaluate somebody recovering from a stroke.

Speech impairment may be brought on by various stroke-related issues, he mentioned, together with muscle weak spot or harm to elements of the mind accountable for understanding and expressing speech. Every of these issues can precede a full restoration, he mentioned.

“I don’t assume there’s any check that can say, ‘Sure, he’s good to go,’” Dr. Nimjee mentioned.

Seema Bonney, founder and medical director on the Anti-Ageing and Longevity Middle of Philadelphia, mentioned among the extra refined results of a stroke can go undetected by some cognitive assessments. Detecting character adjustments or impaired judgment can require extra in-depth cognitive testing with a neurologist, she mentioned.

“It’s not like breaking a leg. You might not be the identical particular person afterward,” Dr. Bonney mentioned.

Mr. Fetterman’s stroke was brought on by a coronary heart situation referred to as cardiomyopathy, his marketing campaign has mentioned, which may result in irregular heartbeats and trigger blood to pool and clot. He has had a pacemaker and defibrillator put in to stop additional problems.

Folks with cardiomyopathy can lead asymptomatic, lengthy lives, medical doctors mentioned.

The Ozcampaign is taking different steps to reshape public impressions of Mr. Fetterman, who has mixed an untraditional demeanor—he favors hoodies and shorts over conventional enterprise costume—with a progressive platform to turn out to be a outstanding determine on liberal cable reveals and in social media.

The Ozcamp and its exterior allies are specializing in Mr. Fetterman’s work as chairman of the state Board of Pardons, through which he voted at instances to free inmates convicted of violent crimes. They imagine the difficulty may show potent in cities corresponding to Philadelphia, the place media have reported that the town’s murder charge set a document final 12 months.

Mr. Fetterman, who led the board in his function as lieutenant governor, says he “fought arduous for second probabilities for deserving Pennsylvanians and to free the wrongfully convicted.” His marketing campaign has moved lately to focus consideration on the controversy over abortion coverage, saying that Mr. Oz, if elected, would additional constrain legalized abortion.

Ms. Yanick mentioned Mr. Ozis “pro-life with three exceptions: lifetime of the mom, rape and incest” and that he wouldn’t need the federal authorities to intrude with states’ actions on abortion.

Till lately, Mr. Fetterman hasn’t been topic to the identical barrage of destructive promoting that Mr. Ozneeded to navigate throughout a tough Republican major and which tarnished his public picture.

The current CBS ballot, for instance, discovered that almost two-thirds of Republicans within the survey mentioned they wished their occasion had nominated one other candidate, whereas 77% of Democrats mentioned they have been glad that Mr. Fetterman is their nominee.

Every Senate marketing campaign and its allies has spent not less than $18 million on advertisements since Aug. 1, in line with AdImpact, an ad-tracking agency. Democrats have booked an extra $37 million in advertisements and Republicans have booked $28 million via Election Day.

Write to Aaron Zitner at aaron.zitner@wsj.com and Julie Wernau at Julie.Wernau@wsj.com