HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz will meet tonight, October 25, for their only scheduled U.S. Senate debate ahead of the critical midterm election where the polls have continued to tighten.

Voters can watch the live primetime debate starting at 8 p.m in the video player above.

The debate will be moderated by WHTM abc27 News anchor Dennis Owens and WPXI anchor Lisa Sylvester with questions covering the issues most important to Pennsylvania voters.

James Crummel will provide pre-debate coverage from Washington D.C. starting at 7:30 p.m.

Fetterman and Oz are seeking to replace retiring U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R) in a race that could decide the balance of power in the United States Senate and dictate the future of President Joe Biden’s domestic policy.

Oz, the former television personality, has faced questions since entering the race over his longtime New Jersey residency. Oz has listed his address in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, and his campaign address in Huntingdon Valley.

Oz attended the University of Pennsylvania where he has a joint MD and MBA from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Wharton Business School. In addition, two of his children were born in Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile, Fetterman must convince voters he is healthy enough to serve after being hospitalized for a stroke in May.

On October 19 Fetterman released a letter from his doctor saying the Lieutenant Governor was fit to serve despite continued auditory processing issues that have led to Fetterman requiring closed captioning for most interviews, as well as Tuesday’s debate.

Our national political partners at The Hill will provide analysis of the debate. You can read their five things to watch by clicking here. Check TheHill.com following the debate for reaction and key moments.

The high-stakes debate — the first and only in the contest — comes just two weeks before Election Day in what polls say is a close race to replace retiring two-term Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. It’s the only major statewide debate happening this year in Pennsylvania since Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano couldn’t reach an agreement on terms for a gubernatorial debate.

Fetterman has grown as a national brand thanks in part to his extraordinary height, tattoos and unapologetic progressive stances. But the 53-year-old Pennsylvania Democrat’s health has emerged as a central issue over the election’s final weeks, even as candidates elsewhere clash over issues like abortion, crime and inflation.

Oz, trailing in the polls, had pushed for more than a half-dozen debates, suggesting that Fetterman’s unwillingness to agree to more than one is because the stroke had debilitated him. Fetterman has insisted that one debate is typical — two is more customary — and that Oz’s focus on debates was a cynical ploy to lie about his stroke recovery.

Meanwhile, Fetterman’s lead in polls has shrunk as Oz’s Republican allies poured tens of millions of dollars into a perennial battleground state that Biden won by just 1 percentage point in 2020.

Fetterman’s allies fear that the 60-minute live televised debate may represent a no-win situation for the Democrat, even if the typical audience for a Senate debate is quite small. Much of the attention will likely focus on how Fetterman — who is blunt and plainspoken — can communicate in a high-pressure situation.

His campaign has acknowledged the built-in disadvantage of putting Fetterman on stage with Oz, a longtime TV personality who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show” weekdays for 13 seasons after getting his start as a regular guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show in 2004.

“This was always going to be an away game for John Fetterman,” said Mustafa Rashed, a Democratic political consultant based in Philadelphia.

A September WHTM/Emerson College poll of 1,000 Pennsylvania voters found Fetterman leading Oz 44.6% to 42.6% with a +/-3% margin of error. Third-party candidates received 5% and 7.9% were undecided.

Nine percent of Republicans (twice as much compared to Democrats) said there were undecided. Independents leaned towards Oz at 45.5% and 11.8% were undecided.

The economy is the most important issue for 39% of Pennsylvania voters, followed by threats to democracy (14%), and abortion access (13%), according to the poll

Follow the debate on social media with #PASenateDebate.

The Associated press contributed to this report.