John Fetterman attends Hamptons fundraiser on campaign trail, continues to avoid debate

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Pennsylvania Senate hopeful John Fetterman was seen attending a Hamptons fundraising event in mid-August amid stroke recovery as he continues to avoid debates against GOP opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz. 

Photos of the unannounced appearance were first posted publicly on Instagram on Aug. 19 by Quinn Blackwell, according to ABC, which first reported the event. Blackwell captioned the photo, "Another fun one with our guy #johnfetterman #winning" before later making his account private. 

James Alexander, a Dubai-based director and managing partner at the Cassia Group, was also tagged in the photo. Cassia Group is a private company working with "private equity, investment management, investment banking, and management consulting," according to their website. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Cassia Group but did not hear back. 

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"The only reason a dude like John would ever go to the Hamptons is because his campaign needs to raise money to fight back against the unprecedented onslaught of attacks and negative ads from Dr. Oz and his rich friends," Joe Cavello, a Fetterman campaign spokesperson, told ABC in a statement. 

Fox News Digital also reached out to Fetterman's campaign but did not hear back. 

Senate candidate John Fetterman speaks during a campaign rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 12, 2022. (Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fetterman has just recently restarted his public appearances since suffering a stroke in May while also repeatedly backing out of debates against Oz. Fetterman released a statement Tuesday declining a September debate, citing Dr. Oz's campaign targeting his health issues as a "stroke survivor."

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"Today’s statement from Dr. Oz’s team made it abundantly clear that they think it is funny to mock a stroke survivor. I chose not to participate in this farce," Fetterman's statement said in response to an earlier statement released by the Oz campaign seeming to mock Fetterman's health condition. 

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"I offered John Fetterman numerous opportunities to explain to me how I can make it easier for him to debate, but at this point… he's given numerous reasons for not showing up, including the fact he didn't have time in his schedule," Oz told "America's Newsroom" co-host Dana Perino on Wednesday. 

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz (Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg | Alexi Rosenfeld via Getty Images)

Oz has stated Fetterman is avoiding any sort of debate ahead of the November elections to hide his "radical views" from voters. 

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Oz's campaign also recently took aim at Fetterman for not joining President Joe Biden during his stop in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, calling it "No-Show John Fetterman strikes again." Fetterman's campaign clapped back, saying he will join the president in Pittsburgh next week to mark the Labor Day holiday. 

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A Fox News poll released in late July showed Fetterman with an 11-point lead over Oz in the battleground state. Fewer Republicans are shown to be staying loyal to Oz, with a 73% rating within the GOP. Fetterman, on the other hand, proved slightly more favorable, with an 89% rating among Democrat voters.