Despite deep ideological differences between Mehmet Oz, a right-leaning Republican, and John Fetterman, a left-leaning Democrat, the U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania has mostly skirted the issues. It has been a slugfest, marked by relentless attacks and counter-attacks that generated more heat than light.

Mr. Oz hammered on — and sometimes misrepresented — Mr. Fetterman’s criminal justice policies, even though a U.S. senator has nothing to do with state criminal justice and sentencing policies. Mr. Fetterman, in turn, characterized Mr. Oz’s legitimate calls for Mr. Fetterman to release his medical records as mean-spirited and insensitive. His campaign huffed and puffed over Mr. Oz’s use of “crudites” for raw vegetables on a platter. It was, admittedly, a tone-deaf blunder, but hardly a pivotal matter in the U.S. Senate race.

During Tuesday’s debate, after hundreds of thousands of votes had already been cast, voters finally learned something about where the candidates stood. They learned, among other things, that Mr. Oz opposes federal intervention in abortion rights, and Mr. Fetterman supports the broader Constitutional guarantees provided by the overturned Roe v. Wade decision. They learned Mr. Fetterman supports a federally mandated $15-an-hour minimum wage, and Mr. Oz wants market forces to raise wages. They learned both candidates support fracking. They also learned both men are politicians, as they ducked and dodged questions about why they had changed their minds on fracking.

Neither candidate has experience as a U.S. senator. Given the lack of substance during the campaign, many voters will have to make a leap of faith on Nov. 8.