WASHINGTON — Sen.John Fetterman, D-Pa., insisted Tuesday he won’t become a Republican, showing frustration with the ongoing questions about his intentions.“I’m not going to be a Republican!” Fetterman said to reporters on Capitol Hill, raising his voice and shaking his head.
“If I turn a Republican, then I’ll be a liar.”“My name is not on the ballot.Like, chill and wait for the midterm here,” he added.
“I’ve always been a Democrat.It’s like, no matter how many times I say that, I’m still getting asked just getting into the elevator.”Fetterman, first elected in 2022, has grown increasingly distant from his party, mainly over his impassioned and unyielding defense of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He’s a regular guest on Fox News, where he gets asked about left-wing members of the Democratic Party and readily whacks them.Those positions and actions have drawn significant attention on Fetterman as a Democrat, but would become far less remarkable if he defected to the GOP.Fetterman sparked the speculation in mid-July when he opened the door to leaving the Democratic Party if it “officially” became “anti-Israel” in the party platform.As Republicans invited him to defect, he wondered aloud to NBC News days later whether Democrats still want him in the party.
In response, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Fetterman “a very good member of Congress” and one Democrats respect.The speculation arose again last week when Fetterman made a video appearance at the two-day Republican midterm convention in Dallas to introduce his “friend,” Sen.David McCormick, R-Pa.
Fetterman issued a statement shortly after that saying he won’t switch parties if Democrats capture Senate control in November.His seat comes up for re-election in 2028, and Fetterman’s prospects of winning renomination as a Democrat are rapidly fading.A New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll last month found Fetterman’s...