Inside John Fetterman’s changing health scare story

The fact that Fetterman, 52, and his campaign won the nomination without fully disclosing the extent of his physical maladies has raised concerns among Democrats that there may be more bad news to come, potentially endangering the party’s hopes for retaining Senate control this fall. The politician, whose advisers have pitched him as an “authentic, straight-talking, no-B.S. populist” — sporting a shaved pate, graying goatee and Carhartt sweatshirts — now faces the challenge of explaining the confusion to voters…

Two Democratic political consultants — who like others for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations and a sensitive issue — worried that the campaign’s handling of Fetterman’s health would undermine his image as a straight talker.

“When you are the godfather of transparency and social media, and you go dark, people notice,” said one strategist who has long supported Fetterman. “It’s not as if admitting some health issue would immediately cause people to seek a replacement.”

Another Democratic consultant who did not work for any candidate in the Senate primary said that the campaign’s disclosure of information has been at best “opaque” and at worst “misleading,” which “makes your imagination run a little wild.” Fetterman will face Republican candidate Mehmet Oz, a retired cardiothoracic surgeon and television personality.