Even under the best of circumstances, Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman would face a tough hurdle in a debate with the much more polished and experienced TV doctor, Mehmet Oz, his opponent in this high-stakes race on Nov. 8.

Since Fetterman suffered a near-fatal stroke just around the time of the May 17 primaries that has left him with auditory processing issues that make deciphering spoken language slower and sometimes even confusing, taking on Oz in a debate makes the challenge that much more formidable.

Fetterman, a Democrat, has agreed to one debate on Oct. 25, just two weeks before the Nov. 8 General Election, but his representatives and those of Republican candidate Oz are still going back and forth on the ground rules.

For example, Oz wants the moderator to inform the audience that Fetterman is using closed-captioning to assist him, and Oz, who originally agreed to an hourlong debate, wants the length increased by 50% to 90 minutes because of the anticipated slowness of Fetterman’s understanding of the questions and responses.

There is also some concern that the lateness of this debate means that a number of voters will have already cast their mail-in ballots by Oct. 25.

Agreeing to debate is a huge gamble for Fetterman. Right now, he is leading Oz by five to seven points in several polls, but a poor showing could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Fetterman and his staff know this, which is why they were slow in agreeing to the debate.

Quite frankly, I believe that this is the only way to go so we can see how Fetterman handles the adversity of the situation.

As for us, the viewing audience, we would get our first good look at Fetterman since his medical emergency and will be able to assess for ourselves whether he has been making slow but steady progress after the stroke and whether we feel it will have any impact on his ability to fulfill his obligations in a high-stress environment. After all, one of the central requirements of this job is to be able to function persuasively in unscripted, pressurized situations.

Fetterman’s campaign staff reports that the candidate has performed normally on two neurocognitive tests. Also, according to several news accounts from major media outlets, he has been performing better in public settings, although his number of appearances and their settings are still closely controlled.

During a recent interview with The New York Times, Fetterman used closed captioning and had his staff repeat the questions for him. Fetterman also has occasional issues with word retrieval that makes him say words incorrectly or choose the incorrect word.

Several medical experts have weighed in on the issue and contend that Fetterman appears to have no mental issues that would prevent him from assuming his duties. They also believe that based on his recovery so far he will continue to improve.

Fetterman has been frank in his public disclosure that the stroke was a near-death experience, and he has assumed responsibility for failing to take the necessary precautions prescribed by his doctor after a heart attack several years ago.

Aside from eyeballing Fetterman and how he performs under these circumstances, we voters must also pay attention to policy differences between these polar-opposites candidates. After all, this is the most important reason to elect a candidate.

The importance of this Senate race cannot be understated. With the upper house split 50-50, a swing of one seat can have enormous consequences. As it is now, any 50-50 vote can be broken by Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as Senate president. She has cast 26 such votes during this term of Congress.

The winner will succeed Republican Pat Toomey of Lehigh County, who did not seek re-election to a third six-year term. The job pays $174,000 annually.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.