A Pennsylvania mother who lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning is calling out Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman for dismissing concerns surrounding the crime crisis ahead of his first and only debate with GOP opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Leslie Holt joined “Fox & Friends First” on Tuesday to discuss Fetterman’s “unacceptable” stance on crime as it remains a key issue, at the top of mind for many Pennsylvania voters ahead of Election Day.
“This is really not a message just for John Fetterman,” Holt told co-host Todd Piro. “That’s what I’m speaking to are the moms, the families who have lost their kids to fentanyl poisoning, and anyone, regardless of whether it’s John Fetterman or any other politician who is running it, they have to realize that victims’ rights, my rights as a parent, my daughter’s right to be alive is not something that you can just blithely push away.”
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“That’s unacceptable,” she continued.
Fetterman has garnered significant criticism for what dissenters call progressive crime policies, as he has thrown his support behind Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
John Fetterman, lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic senate candidate, center, and his wife Gisele Fetterman, center left, walk with the United Steelworkers District 10 union during a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, on Monday, Sept. 5, 2022. Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Krasner, who received $1.7 million in support from billionaire George Soros, has come under fire for how he has handled the crime crisis as violence surges to record levels in the City of Brotherly Love.
“It is totally outrageous that, frankly, we even have to have this discussion because it is so hard, as I said, to prosecute these cases,” Holt said. “What we as families go through … to get a murderer behind bars is excruciating, along with the pain that we’re already experiencing.”
“For John Fetterman or any politician at this point to say to families across the country that we need to let more people out of prison is just so insulting,” she continued.
Dr. Oz, who has the support of former President Trump, has been closing in on Fetterman’s lead in recent weeks. One poll indicates he is now within two percentage points of Fetterman as the race continues to tighten.
And crime, an issue hitting home for many, is at the top of mind for many Pennsylvania voters.
“Over the past two years – under the Joe Biden and John Fetterman agenda, violent crime has surged in our communities,” Dr. Oz wrote in a Fox News op-ed this month. “Just last year, Philadelphia broke its all-time homicide record with 562 deaths, and is maintaining that pace so far this year with more than 400 homicides and over 1,000 carjackings for the first time ever.”
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Dr. Oz echoed Holt’s sentiment on Fetterman’s approach to crime, warning the record-breaking violence in some areas statewide would only worsen under his leadership.
“The rise in violent crime has to stop, but far-left radical extremists like my opponent, John Fetterman, would make it worse by putting criminals ahead of victims and law-abiding citizens,” Dr. Oz wrote.
“John Fetterman has also advocated for disarming the police and releasing of one-third of Pennsylvania’s inmate population – including violent first- and second-degree murderers,” he continued.
The pair will engage in their first and only debate, with crime likely taking center stage, on Tuesday night.
