John Fetterman mocked Senate rival Dr Mehmet Oz’s abortion remarks as he acknowledged “missing words” during their election debate in Pennsylvania.

Fetterman, who is still recovering from a stroke that has left him with some auditory processing and speech issues, told a crowd in Pittsburgh that it was the pro-Trump Republican who still “had the worst line” of the night.

“Last night Oz said that – and I want to get this right – quote ‘local political leaders’ should decide whether a woman should be able to get an abortion. Basically, like (GOP candidate for Pennsylvania Governor) Doug Mastriano.

“You know for some of the focus on some of the words that I miss, he really has to say that he had the worst line of that night.”

Going into the debate a CNN poll found that 51 per cent of likely voters support Mr Fetterman, a Democrat, compared to 45 per cent for Dr Oz.

Fetterman was in Pittsburgh on Wednesday evening to attend a campaign event with musician Dave Matthews.

The Democrat told the crowd at the event that doing the debate “wasn’t exactly easy.”

“Knew it wasn’t going to be easy after having a stroke after five months. In fact, I don’t think it has ever been done before in American political history actually. You know, after that stroke, I got knocked down, but I got back up.”

Mr Fetterman, who has been fully cleared by his doctors, also acknowledged his health issues and recovery at the beginning of the debate.

“Let’s also talk about the elephant in the room. I had a stroke. He’s never let me forget that,” Mr Fetterman said.

“And I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together, but it knocked me down and I’m going to keep coming back up.”

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