U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman suffered stroke ahead of Pa. primary

May 15 (UPI) -- John Fetterman, a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania, announced Sunday that he is recovering from a stroke.

Fetterman, a Democrat who is currently the state's lieutenant governor, wrote in a statement that he went to the hospital at the insistence of his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, after he was not feeling well on Friday.

"I had a stroke that was caused by a clot from my heart being in an A-fib rhythm for too long," he said.

Fetterman said that doctors were able to remove the clot and completely reverse the stroke.

"The good news is I'm feeling much better and the doctors tell me I didn't suffer any cognitive damage," he said. "I'm well on my way to a full recovery."

As of Sunday, Fetterman, who holds a lead over U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta in recent primary polls, said he was still at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital for observation but said the doctors had assured he would be able to return to the campaign trail.

"Our campaign isn't slowing down one bit, and we are still on track to win this primary on Tuesday and flip the Senate seat in November," he said. "Thanks for all the support, and please get out there and vote."