It was a risky play to have a rally against the Eagles at the same time as the election. The bet was that voters in this suburb would care more about abortion rights than Hurts did.
Annie Henry, a campaign staffer for John Fetterman, thanked the people who missed the game for listening to a Democrat talk about reproductive rights.
The Eagles' defense held on to win in Detroit. In Blue Bell, a capacity-breaching crowd came to hear Fetterman address supporters in the Philly suburbs for the first time since returning to the campaign trail after a stroke.
Some people wore their favorite player's jersey at the event. Women were the majority. The man who showed up was an anti-abortion activist.
Chris Hoyler, who works in an emergency room in the city, said she's driven to vote this November because of the threat Republican control of the Senate will have on abortion rights. A number of states have banned the procedure.
"It's hurting women, it's killing women, to not have the ability to get the medical care that they need, when they need it," Hoyler said as she waited in a line that snaked around a college. They try to tell women how to live their lives. It is so motivating. It's shameful.
There is no correlation between rally attendance and electoral success. Thousands turned out to hear Fetterman's GOP rival, Dr. Mehmet Oz, speak earlier this month. Since the June court decision turned every election into a referendum on choice, Democrats are now seen as likely to hold the Senate in a cycle that usually results in large losses on an incumbent president's party.
I know what you mean. In a speech at the rally, the CEO of the organization said that women should not be offended. She got the loudest applause when she talked about getting rid of the filibuster, which would allow a slim Democratic majority to pass a federal law protecting abortion.
She said that they are seeing what abortion bans are doing and what they were designed to do. Women are being forced to give birth. We are working against forced pregnancies.
Fetterman could help Democrats increase their majority in the Senate. He would fight to codify abortion rights if elected.
If I were the 51st vote, what do I do? Fetterman said to get rid of the filibuster. The Fetterman camp's constant attacks on Oz over where he actually lives drew a lot of ire from the crowd. Oz moved in with his in-laws outside of Philadelphia to run for Senate, but has since been accused of returning to his NYC-area mansion to record a campaign video.
The celebrity doctor's campaign stepped up attacks on the health of the lieutenant governor, who had a stroke just before winning the Democratic primary.
"If John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn't have had a major stroke," said Rachel Tripp, a spokeswoman for Oz.
Fetterman, who is still dealing with issues related to his health scare, sought to make his recovery relevant. The Senate candidate began his address with a question and spoke with apparent deliberation.
He asked who had ever known someone who had a health problem. Everyone of course.
Fetterman said he definitely had. I hope that you didn't have a doctor in your life making fun of it or telling you that you're not fit to serve. Unfortunately I do. My doctor is doing that.
In a state where heart disease is the leading cause of death and where strokes are the leading cause of hospitalization, that may be a smart way to distract from personal attacks. Lucy Thimme, a recent college graduate from Chester County, decided to attend the rally because she thought Fetterman could be the Senator who helped deliver it.
There is a chance to flip a seat. Legislation can be passed to safeguard people's rights to reproductive freedom.
She said the obvious answer was that he's from New Jersey.
Tell us about a news story. C Davis is the reporter for Insider.
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