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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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John Fetterman, the Democrat running for Pennsylvania's open Senate seat, was questioned about his shifting position on fracking during a Tuesday night debate with opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz.
"You're saying tonight that you support fracking, that you've always supported fracking, but there is that 2018 interview that you said, quote, 'I don't support fracking at all,' so how do you square the two?" the moderator asked Fetterman, the state's lieutenant governor.
Fetterman, who suffered a stroke more than five months ago and struggled to communicate effectively during the debate, said: "I do support fracking. And I don't, I don't. I support fracking, and I stand and I do support fracking."
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Fracking is a top issue in Pennsylvania, where thousands of jobs are tied to natural gas production. It involves injecting high-pressure water deep underground to extract oil or gas from rock, but environmentalists blame fracking for polluting ground water.
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Fetterman supported a moratorium on fracking while running for U.S. Senate in 2016. "There's no such thing as a green fracker," he said during a primary debate that year.
He also calling fracking a "stain" on Pennsylvania in a comment on Reddit.
"I am not pro-fracking and have stated that if we did things right in this state, we wouldn't have fracking. The industry is a stain on our state and natural resources," he wrote in the post, reported by Fox News in July. "But yes, of course I worry about the viability of getting a ban on fracking done when the industry is already so entrenched in Pennsylvania."
He added that he had signed the Food and Water Watch's pledge to end fracking.
In a 2018 interview while running for lieutenant governor, Fetterman said: "I don't support fracking at all and I never have. And I've signed the no fossil fuels money pledge and I have never received a dime from any natural gas or oil company whatsoever."
But in an interview with NBC News earlier in October, Fetterman denied that he had "walked back" his support for a moratorium on fracking.
He said he had opposed fracking until the "appropriate changes and regulations" were adopted to protect the environment.
"And then after the laws have changed, then I support fracking. I support the energy security that we should have in the United States… I always supported as long as it's done environmentally sound, and making sure that we're not contaminating our waterways."
Fetterman's campaign has been contacted for further comment.
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