Midterm campaign updates: GOP's Cheney endorses Ohio Democrat Tim Ryan for Senate

Amid post-stroke challenges that were on full display in a debate Tuesday night, John Fetterman is still running for the U.S. Senate out of “love of my state” and “love of my nation,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said on Thursday in his first interview since the debate.

“I think the direction that we could go in if we don’t have -- step up and fight for that, as well too,” Fetterman told Javier Palomarez, president of the United States Hispanic Business Council, which hosted a pre-planned virtual town hall with the candidate.

“If anyone has any question, you know, I always show up, I always lean in, and I always make sure to,” Fetterman told Palomarez, alluding to the scrutiny over his health both before and after the debate, when his auditory and language issues caused him to repeatedly struggle to answer questions on stage.

Over the course of Thursday’s roughly 35-minute interview, which took place on Zoom with closed captioning, Fetterman was asked about policy issues that might affect Hispanic business owners rather than about his debate performance.

Fetterman was asked to clarify his stance on hydraulic fracking, an issue about which he has made contradicting statements.

“I absolutely would support fracking, and I have,” he told Palomarez when asked about previously calling the industry “a stain on Pennsylvania.”

Fetterman said his previous opposition to fracking was borne from environmental concerns but that the war in Ukraine makes it an essential part of the state’s economy.

The United States Hispanic Business Council will host a similar town hall with Fetterman’s opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz, on Friday afternoon.

-- ABC News' Will McDuffie

The conservative Club for Growth is putting out a new ad looking to boost Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, as he faces a tougher-than-anticipated challenge from independent Evan McMullin.

The video, backed by an $800,000 reservation, will begin airing statewide Wednesday through Election Day. The 30-second clip features former Gov. Jon Huntsman, who served one term and was later the U.S. ambassador to Russia during the Trump administration.

"There's a lot of noise out there right now, so let me tell you what I know about Mike Lee. I've worked with Mike since I was governor, and I know his heart. He has the unshakeable integrity that's all too scarce in politics. You might not always agree with Mike. I don't. But we can all agree that principled leadership and fidelity to the Constitution are paramount in difficult times. Let's send Mike Lee back to the Senate," Huntsman says in the ad.

The late buy suggests 11th-hour handwringing by some of Lee's allies over McMullin's bid.

Lee recently went on Fox News to plead with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, for his endorsement, and the FiveThirtyEight polling average only has Lee up by about 8 points after he won reelection in 2016 by more than 40.

McMullin has centered his challenge around Lee's communications discussing methods to challenge the 2020 election results after the race was over, accusing Lee of shedding his label as a "constitutional conservative." Lee notes he did not ultimately reject to certifying the Electoral College results.

He and his allies have accused McMullin -- who previously worked as a Republican congressional aide and then ran for president in 2016 as an independent -- of now being a closet Democrat, noting that the state Democratic Party endorsed him and did not run a candidate of its own. McMullin, though, has said he wouldn't caucus with either party in the Senate.

-- ABC News' Tal Axelrod

The newest John Fetterman ads feature words of support from former President Barack Obama, the latest high-profile surrogate to involve himself in Pennsylvania's crucial Senate race.

"When the fate of our democracy and a women's right to choose are on the line, I know John will fight for Pennsylvanians," he says in both ads.

Notably, in the radio ad, Obama touts Fetterman's service on the state Board of Pardons, which opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz attacks repeatedly by accusing Fetterman of endangering Pennsylvanians by voting to commute the sentences of some convicted murderers.

"As Lieutenant Governor, John chairs the Board of Pardons and has helped people who were wrongfully convicted," Obama says.

In a statement, Fetterman said, "I am deeply grateful for President Obama's support in this race. I was proud to be one of the only elected officials in western Pennsylvania to endorse President Obama in the 2008 presidential primary, and it is truly an honor for him to get behind our campaign and cut ads for us across the commonwealth."

While the campaign noted in a press release that the ads will appear "across Pennsylvania" in the coming weeks, the radio hits began airing in the Philadelphia market this week.

–ABC News' Will McDuffie

Wednesday's placements are the second round of ad spending by the new PAC, which was launched in late September and kicked off its first round of placements in the same Senate races earlier this month.

According to ad tracking firm Ad Impact, Make America Great Again Inc.'s biggest investment in the latest ad placement was a $1 million ad buy in the race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Trump-endorsed J.D. Vance in the Ohio Senate race, followed by $770,000 in spending on the rivalry between Democrat John Fetterman and Trump-endorsed Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race.

Read more here.

–ABC News’ Soo Rin Kim