"But he needed way more time to be able to process effectively," McFarland, the chair of Lehigh County's Democratic Committee, told Insider on Wednesday.
During the one-hour showdown against his Republican rival Mehmet Oz, Fetterman at times struggled to get his message across clearly, speaking haltingly and stumbling on his words.
James Carter, a 71-year-old Democratic voter, told Insider that Fetterman is simply not getting enough credit.
"I kind of felt bad," Stacy Garrity, Pennsylvania's state treasurer, told Insider.
"I don't even think that John Fetterman should be running," Beth Gdowik, a 59-year-old voter from the Lehigh Valley area, told Insider.