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The Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary is four months away, but the party appears to be coalescing behind Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.
Fetterman’s positions—he’s staunchly pro-union, in favor of legalizing cannabis and codifying Roe v. Wade, and has called out Sen. Joe Manchin by name—make him a progressive darling. The former small-town mayor’s working-class persona and gruff personality also give him crossover appeal, especially if conspiracy theorist Dr. Mehmet Oz is the GOP nominee.
Fetterman’s fundraising numbers are formidable. The Democrat took in $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 on the strength of a campaign with donors in 87% of Pennsylvania zip codes. The campaign claims 424,000 individual contributions and around $12 million in fundraising so far. Donors give an average of $28.
“In this quarter alone, we had over 22,000 new donors join our team,” campaign senior advisor Rebecca Katz said.
As lieutenant governor, Fetterman has been able to make inroads into rural and urban Pennsylvania alike. Most Senate candidates are restricted in one way or another to one of the two; Democrats will concentrate on cities and Republican rural and suburban areas. Fetterman’s campaign told Blue Tent that the candidate, in his official state capacity, visited all 67 Pennsylvania counties during a listening tour about legalizing cannabis.
In a purple state like Pennsylvania, where Democrats and Republicans go back and forth in their control of the state and some areas are as deep red as the big cities are deep blue, an all-hands approach could catapult Fetterman to Washington.
“While Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are critical, the small counties are also important,” Fetterman said in February 2021. “It’s never urban vs. rural. It’s got to be urban and rural.”
Fetterman’s progressive cred allows him to connect with a growing infrastructure of groups doing grassroots work around the state like Pennsylvania Stands Up. And he can count endorsements from state and national groups like United Steelworkers District 10, UFCW Local 1776, NORML PAC, and United Rural Democrats as indicators of his crossover appeal.
Fetterman’s candidacy may end up being 2022’s best test of a long-held tenet of progressive Democratic politics. Liberals and others in the party have been proponents of a “50-state strategy” for years, going back at least to Howard Dean’s DNC chairing of the DNC from 2005-2009. Fetterman’s approach to campaigning will use that strategy, but on a state scale.
Given Fetterman’s fundraising advantage, donors may be inclined to direct their giving elsewhere or wait to see how the primary goes. Yet for people invested in getting Democrats elected, contributing early to the most prominent and powerful Democrat vying to pick up a Senate seat in a key swing state makes sense. Down-ballot races benefit from a strong candidate at the top of the ticket, and Fetterman is poised to make a strong run—and that’s not to mention the federal implications of a win, which could see the filibuster scrapped for some legislation, if not all, should Democrats expand their edge in the upper chamber.
As Blue Tent has reported, getting in early on a campaign can make a positive difference and help build momentum for candidates and causes. With Fetterman snowballing support and taking in campaign cash, the lieutenant governor is in prime position not only to take the open Senate seat, but help Democrats across the Keystone State.