Dem
47
GOP
53
Both parties have always had members of Congress who did not follow the party line. For the Republicans, think: Sen Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). For the Democrats, there were a pair of former senators: Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Now there is another Democratic senator who increasingly many Democrats want to get rid of: Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). When Fetterman appeared on the scene in 2022, he was hailed as a true working-class hero who could bring in white, working-class men. People were even talking about his as a presidential candidate in 2028. No more.
The most recent event that has turned Democrats against Fetterman is his vote to advance the nomination of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) for secretary of DHS. The Senate Homeland Security Committee has 15 members, eight Republicans and seven Democrats. The Libertarian-at-heart chairman, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), voted "nay" on Mullins but the other seven Republicans voted "aye." Six of the Democrats voted "nay," making it 7-7. Fetterman was thus the tie-breaking vote and he voted with the Republicans, meaning that Mullins, whose background is his family's plumbing company, will virtually certainly be in charge of ICE, FEMA and the Coast Guard in short order.
Democrats are furious with Fetterman for advancing the nomination of someone so obviously unqualified to run the sprawling DHS. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said it was time for Fetterman to go. The senator is not up in 2026, but he IS up in 2028. Boyle is considering a primary challenge to Fetterman, whose polling makes Sinema look like Miss Popularity. When Fetterman was elected, he was the progressives' hero. When he was campaigning in 2022, his net approval among Pennsylvania Democrats was +68. Now it is -40. Swings of 108 points in 4 years don't happen every day.
Other House Democrats, including Reps. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Pat Ryan (D-NY), have also called for Fetterman to go. Fetterman has frequently given the impression that he hates being in the Senate, with all its formal procedures and inability to get anything done. He could switch to the GOP, but history shows that Pennsylvania voters hate turncoats. If he continues to be so deeply underwater, it is very likely that Boyle or some other Democrat will beat him in a primary in 2028 if he runs. However, a more likely scenario is that he decides not to run for reelection, leaving an open-seat race behind in 2028. (V)