Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz went head-to-head on Tuesday night in their only planned debate before votes are tallied in Pennsylvania's US Senate race this November.

Pennsylvania's Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and former reality television personality Dr. Oz took the stage in Harrisburg for their first televised debate this election cycle, hosted by local ABC anchor Dennis Owens and WPXI anchor Lisa Sylvester.

The state's US Senate race has stirred up national interest, with Fetterman seeking to flip the seat blue. Polling data show that the contest is a toss-up for either candidate, meaning that both will have to be on their A-game as Election Day nears.

Though many have been clamoring for the two to debate, the highly anticipated match-up was difficult to watch. Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May, often struggled to convey his ideas out loud, dropping syllables and slurring words. Meanwhile, Oz wove a web of rightwing misinformation with a practiced TV smile and greasy self-assurance.

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TAG24 NEWS is looking past the performances to get to the heart of the issues voters care about. Here's what each of the candidates had to say about some of the most pressing problems of the day.

Economic justice is one area where the candidates clearly hold diverging views.

When the debate moderators pointed out that Pennsylvania's minimum wage remains at $7.25 per hour and has not increased since 2009, Fetterman and Oz had wildly different responses.

Fetterman confirmed that he supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour at a minimum, as well as expanding social security and strengthening labor unions.

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Oz sidestepped that same commitment, instead suggesting that "market forces" have already driven up the minimum wage. He seems to believe that salaries will increase if Pennsylvania goes all in on fracking, even though the environmental destruction caused by the fossil fuel industry has been shown to hurt economically unstable communities the most.

When it comes to combatting inflation, Fetterman advocated for pushing back on corporate greed and price gouging and making sure that US companies aren't exporting labor to other countries like China.

Oz claimed Fetterman is "out of touch with the values of Pennsylvanians" and doubled down on his belief that fracking is the magic solution to everyone's problems.

Speaking of fracking, Pennsylvania is second in natural gas production in the country, after Texas, the moderators pointed out.

Fracking, which involves injecting high-pressure liquid into shale rock to extract trapped oil and gas, has been shown to be harmful for the environment and human health. It can lead to air pollution, water contamination, earthquakes, and increased methane levels in earth's atmosphere.

Climate activists have called on governments to stand up to powerful fossil fuel interests and explore renewable energy sources that don't do so much damage.

Oz already made his stance toward fracking and drilling painfully clear, but Fetterman also took flack from his base after declaring that he "absolutely support[s]" the extractive practice.

"I believe that we need independence with energy," he said. "We can't be held ransom to somebody like Russia."

The Democratic nominee failed to explain his shift in views after expressing opposition to fracking in the past.

When it came to health care, you'd have expected Dr. Oz to be in his element.

Instead, the Republican nominee completely bypassed a question about shady medical advice he gave viewers on his TV show to slam Fetterman for supporting "socialized medicine."

Fetterman responded by saying, "Health care is a basic, fundamental right. I believe in expanding that and I believe in supporting fighting for health care, the kind of health care that saved my life."

But Fetterman did not go so far as to say that he supports Medicare For All. He had the perfect opportunity to do so when Oz attempted to malign him by painting him as a close ally of M4A champion Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Though regularly panned by conservative politicians and corporate media, Medicare For All has been shown to be popular among US voters. Progressives have called on Fetterman to openly endorse the policy, though he did not do so during Tuesday's debate.

Fetterman gave probably his strongest answer of the night when it came to the question of abortion access, confirming that he supports codifying Roe v. Wade into law if elected.

"I want to look into the face of every woman in Pennsylvania. If you believe that the choice of your reproductive freedom belongs with Dr. Oz, then you have a choice," he said. "But if you believe that the choice for abortion belongs between you and your doctor, that's what I fight for. Roe v. Wade, for me, should be the law."

Dr. Oz, who describes himself as "pro-life," said, "There should not be involvement from the federal government in how states decide their abortion decisions." He said those decisions should be up to "women, doctors, and local political leaders." Reading between the lines, this essentially means he supports Republican-controlled states' efforts to limit people's ability to make their own health care decisions.

Neither candidate supports adding justices to the Supreme Court, one of the solutions proposed to combat the recent slew of decisions to curtail civil rights, including overturning the landmark abortion rights ruling.

The candidates touched on many issues, including student debt, policing, and more, in their hour-long debate. Voters will get the chance to weigh in this Election Day, November 8, 2022.