Joe Biden and Kamala Harris come to Philly to boost Democrats in Pa.’s high-profile Senate and governor’s races

Hoping to boost Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania’s nationally watched U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday night spoke at a fund-raiser in Center City, with the president saying Democrats were fighting to level the economic playing field for working Americans.

“We’re doing everything we can for folks to have just a little more breathing room, as my dad used to say, just a little more breathing room,” Biden said at the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s annual Independence Dinner. “My Republican friends in Congress seem to be hoping for a recession. They were very disappointed yesterday: The GDP report shows the economy is growing.”

Biden, a Scranton native and longtime Wilmington resident, also repeatedly said he loves Philly and revealed that he was wearing Phillies socks during his speech, which overlapped with the start of Game 1 of the World Series.

The presidential cameo comes amid doubt about Democrat John Fetterman’s campaign for Senate after a Tuesday night debate performance against Republican Mehmet Oz in which Fetterman struggled to speak and showed symptoms of the stroke he suffered shortly before the May primary.

Fetterman acknowledged his showing at that debate while speaking at Friday’s event.

“I must be really honest: It’s so much nicer to spend a night with you all than it was with Dr. Oz,” he said. “Doing the debate, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy, certainly after basically five months after having a stroke.”

Fetterman said that, if he is elected, his symptoms will have improved by the time he is sworn in to office in January.

“I’ll be much better in January, but [Oz] will still be a fraud,” he said. “I may not say everything perfect sometimes, but I’ll always do the right things if you send me to Washington, D.C.”

The Oz campaign played footage of the debate on repeat outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center while the Democratic banquet was taking place inside.

» READ MORE: Democrats will swing at Oz with an abortion ad during the World Series

Oz spokesperson Brittany Yanick said Friday that Biden and Harris have a “dangerous agenda” that has led to rampant crime and drug use in cities, and that their visit would not distract voters as “the momentum in this race continues to shift and Pennsylvanians rally behind Dr. Oz’s message of restoring balance to Washington.”

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refused to fight violent crime, stop the flow of deadly drugs across our border, and combat skyrocketing inflation and gas prices,” Yanick said.

Fetterman and Oz are locked in what appears to be a neck-and-neck contest as the Nov. 8 election approaches, while Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro has opened up a significant lead over Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano in the gubernatorial race.

Earlier in the day, Harris spoke about the need to safeguard reproductive rights at an event at Bryn Mawr College. In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion, Harris said, the key battleground for protecting abortion rights will be state government.

“It is now falling on state leaders, local leaders — Gov. [Tom] Wolf is doing an incredible job here — to do the work of standing and taking a principled stand to ensure that these rights will be protected,” Harris said at Bryn Mawr, an all-women’s college on the Main Line.

Democrats must reach out to a diverse coalition of voters, and should use messaging that taps into the nation’s fundamental values, she said.

» READ MORE: John Fetterman’s performance was center stage in lone Pa. Senate debate against Mehmet Oz

”Let’s take back the flag because this is about freedom and liberty,” Harris said. “We are talking about founding principles. One could say first principles: freedom and liberty.”

Harris also poked fun at Oz’s comments at Tuesday’s debate that “local political leaders” should have a say in abortion.

”It makes me imagine being in your OB’s office, and there you are with your doctor, and then in the chair over there is your local [elected official],” Harris said. “You can’t undo that image once you’ve seen it, can you?”

Oz said at the debate that he believes laws regulating abortion access should be left to the states.

“I want women, doctors, local political leaders letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves,” he said.

He has also said he opposes abortion except in instances of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is in danger.

Harris was joined on stage by U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D., Pa.) and actress Sophia Bush.

Democrats have sought to make abortion rights a central issue in the midterm elections following the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade. Republicans, meanwhile, have focused on crime and sought to tie Democratic candidates to the surges in gun violence in cities across the country that began during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fetterman-Oz race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey has taken on added importance as one of the few swing states with competitive Senate elections as Democrats fight to hold on to Congress’ upper chamber.

Pennsylvania’s other Senate seat is occupied by Democrat Bob Casey, who is not on the ballot this year. Speaking at Friday night’s event, Casey praised Fetterman and Shapiro, but noted that their elections weren’t the only prospective victories on the minds of the dinner’s attendees.

“We want to get out of here tonight so we can watch the Phillies win the first game of the World Series,” Casey said.