John Fetterman joins forces with Republican counterpart in Senate for fundraising committee | Pennsylvania

Facing mounting political challenges, Democratic senator John Fetterman is joining forces with Republican senator Dave McCormick to form a new joint fundraising committee; It’s a move that will likely fuel additional questions about Fetterman’s increasingly rightward drift.

In an unusual bipartisan arrangement, Pennsylvania’s two U.S. senators have formed a joint fundraising committee that will raise donations that will benefit both of their campaigns.

Federal Election Commission records A filing filed Monday charts the creation of Common Ground PA. The filing notes that both Fetterman and McCormick’s leadership Pacs and major campaign committees are joint committee participants. Policy first reported Formation of the fundraising committee this week.

This move led to new speculation that Fetterman was planning a party change. “He will return,” Rick Wilson, a longtime political consultant and anti-Trump activist, predicted in a comment. social media post in response to the new fundraising committee.

Nick Field, local politics writer in Pennsylvania, wrote: “It’s looking more and more likely that Fetterman will caucus with Republicans in 2027 and even try to run in 2028 with their support.”

Democratic political strategist Mike Nellis said: in question He said Democrats should assume that Fetterman “is a forward-looking Republican and we can’t rely on his vote — especially when it comes to judges.”

Fetterman rose to fame in 2016 as a vocal progressive and early supporter of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. But in the years since, he has steadily moved away from many of his previous left-leaning positions and emerged as a bipartisan lawmaker increasingly finding common ground with Republicans.

Since Donald Trump began his second term, Fetterman has repeatedly parted ways with fellow Democrats on key issues. He was the only Democrat to support the confirmation of several of Trump’s cabinet nominees, backed parts of the administration’s immigration enforcement agenda and backed the U.S. war with Iran. As a result, Fetterman faced repeated criticism from members of his own party.

Fetterman’s next re-election campaign will take place in 2028, while McCormick will not face voters again until 2030. Pa.’s Fetterman reported about $1.99 million, according to the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission. cash on hand.

Although they represent opposing political parties, Fetterman and McCormick collaborated on many issues and publicly referred to each other as close friends. last month they appeared We gathered in Philadelphia to encourage Pennsylvania parents to sign their children up for Trump accounts.

Neither senator currently has majority approval among Pennsylvania voters. A. Quinnipiac poll As of February, it was revealed that Fetterman’s overall job performance had a 46% approval rating, while McCormick had a 37% job approval rating.

One Washington Post In an opinion piece published in May, Fetterman said: “Being an independent voice working with the other party to serve on behalf of Pennsylvanians might put me at odds with the party I remain committed to and have no plans to leave — but I will continue to put the state and country first. I would also be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly Democratic.”