TORONTO – The cameras were rolling Tuesday night when a televised political debate took an unexpected turn.
Just ten minutes into the mayoral candidates’ debate at the Kimmel Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, candidate Anthony Williams was in the middle of speaking when a sudden commotion halted the proceedings.
That’s because just to his left, fellow candidate Lynne Abraham, 74, had collapsed on-stage.
“I was just standing there at the podium, I was on a riser, and I leaned over to look at Tony and…the lights went out,” Abraham told CBS Philly.
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The other candidates tried to come to Abraham’s aid in the moments after her fall, but were tethered to their podiums by their microphones.
“The doctor jumped up on the stage and I said I want to get up and go on and he said ‘I don’t think so,’” said Abraham.
The doctor helped Abraham back to her feet, and she went backstage to receive medical attention while the debate resumed a short time later.
Speaking to reporters the next day, Williams, a state senator, said he was understanding of Abraham’s situation and was loathe to draw any conclusions about her fitness to continue campaigning.
“None of us are spring chickens on that stage. And it can happen to anybody,” Williams said to local media Wednesday morning.
Abraham said dehydration was to blame for her collapse, saying that it has never happened to her before.
“I just didn’t drink enough water. I’m drinking water today,” Abraham said.
And like any good political candidate, she’s taking her fall in stride, joking with local media that at least, “I fell gracefully.”
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