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PA-Sen: Fetterman Endorses Bernie Sanders for President (UPDATED with VIDEO)

John-FettermanJohn Fetterman “feels the bern”.

According to Tom Fitzgerald of the Inquirer, the Braddock Mayor and Senate candidate is endorsing Bernie Sanders’ campaign for President.

“Bernie Sanders and I are not traditional, establishment candidates – and we don’t want to be. Politics today has become more about special interests and big money, and establishment politicians have forgotten where actual people fit into that equation,” Fetterman stated. “Bernie and I entered our respective races because we believe in the kind of politics that’s about standing up for people instead of catering to corporate influence. We represent everyday working people that have otherwise been disenfranchised from the political process by the millionaires and billionaires.”

Fitzgerald reports that Fetterman is the only statewide candidate to endorse Sanders so far. According to FiveThirtyEight, Congressmen Keith Ellison (MIN) and Raul Grijalva (ARI) are the only major elected officials backing Sanders right now.

In some ways the move makes sense strategically as Fetterman’s opponents both served in the Clinton Administration. McGinty was Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality while Sestak was Director of Defense Policy on the National Security Council.

Additionally, Sanders has had some success running as an insurgent outsider candidate and Fetterman would likely want to follow that model.

Finally, there is the possibility that Sanders could be a close ally in the Senate should his presidential effort fail while Fetterman’s campaign succeeds.

There is also, of course, the danger that a Democrat faces whenever they cross the Clintons.

For example, Rep. Patrick Murphy endorsed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in 2007. In 2012, Murphy was the front-runner in the Democratic primary for Attorney General. Then, Bill Clinton endorsed and even headlined a rally for a little-known Scranton prosecutor name Kathleen Kane. The rest is history.

UPDATE: The Fetterman campaign has released a video to go allow with the announcement:

38 Responses

  1. Hey Fedderman move to Cuba or some other commie socialist country and take grandpa with you. You ain’t fit to be a street sweeper.

  2. I won’t vote for Trump. There are a lot of Christians who will have a hard time voting for that man. I’d prefer Hillary. I know we’ve had more guileful presidents in the past, but I won’t vote for her either. If Fetterman were running as an I in a 3-person general for the Presidency, I’d vote for him.

  3. donneld trumpe is gonna camp pain for congrisman don meehan in Radnor 2mororow aftnoon and he gonna all so bein mediA pa sunNday moning and campan for patt tomey,

  4. There probably won’t be more than a few debates. There is something planned for PA Progressive Summit. Not sure if it’s a forum or a full debate.

    Also, until petitions are complete, we don’t know the field for certain. Joe VodVarka was on the ballot in 2012 and got 20% of the vote against Casey, and barely spend a dime.

    Admittedly, that says more about Casey and voters being contrarian than VodVarka. However, in a 4 way race, with ballot position, and name similarity, along with gender, regional and anti-establishment politics in play, he could have an impact.

    So, I’m not worried about debates not scheduled yet. There will be one or two.

  5. OK massir Martinez. Meesa wrong. meesa so wrong. messa blakfase steel funee to A Gee sista and deemoecrats.

  6. too all youse peeples who says me is rasist you is al wrong I aint no racism I likes everbuddy aslong as day aint dun nuttin wrong as for goevnor corbit he aint reely lose lass year instd the udder guy steals the elctn cuz the way it wrks in pennslv is eech partee gets 8 yrs as gov then the udder partee gets the job,

  7. I second Montco PA Dem:

    100 days until the Primary. Why aren’t there any Democratic (Senatorial) debates scheduled yet?

  8. eagleswing

    I saw Katie in the 2014 debates, and she did an excellent job. The race was already in the bag for Wolf at that point, and McCord started self-destructing with baseless racial attacks against Wolf.

    Katie offered a very well structured and presented takedown of Corbett and his policies.

  9. That’s a lie, eagleswing. I’ve heard from more than one teacher who attended at a private forum with the candidates that Fetterman came off far superior to Sestak and McGinty.

  10. Surprised (and delighted?) to see Mr. Martinez has rejoined our ranks. I’m a little confused: I thought he was a dyed-in-the-wool Corbett supporter. What brought about this change of heart, going against Corbett’s friends like Sen. Toomey?

  11. Dear MontgoPa Dem- I had the honor of watching the gubernatorial candidates all on the same stage debating before the PA primary in 14. katie was out of her league, came across as clueless on a number of important state wide issues. to be sure she’s presenting a nice soccer mom image in bright suits. she needs to get some better grip on the facts and issues to match what the other candidates displayed–particularly McCord and Wolf. if she’s as bad in the US Senate debates she’ll get crucified . not all Dems are listening to the big boys from phila who are trying to tell rank and file they WILL VOTE for Rendell’s former DEP mouthpiece.

  12. i was in the audience to hear Fetterman speak recently. what a complete zero score many people gave on his answers to important questions. members of the audience-all democrats– kept asking him ‘ what is your SOLUTION for this problem? He kept telling us how Braddock was progressing. he is a nice guy with cute kids but absolutely no clue on dealing the multiple federal issues he’d face as a senator. if he thinks endorsing bernie is going to get him votes he’d better think again. bernie supporters have generally actually studied the issues and have solutions. until Fetterman figures out how to do so , he should stay in braddock.

  13. Bernie’s supporters are highly motivated, and they are already doing a lot of grassroots organizing, house parties, literature drops, and outreach at the local level. Clinton’s been sending a lot of generic emails (“Are you with me, then donate $1.”) and not much else. If Bernie’s supporters rally behind Fetterman, he suddenly has an impressive, enthusiastic, statewide ground game.

  14. Fetterman needs that energy of Bernie-minded ground troops for the primary. No way he even comes close of big money McGinty in the fundraising game.

  15. Fetterman was just about the only elected official in PA who dared to go against Hillary and endorse Obama back in 2008.

  16. Unsanctioned R-

    It never occurred to me that MoveOn would support anyone other than Bernie as their first choice.

  17. Unsanctioned R-

    I realize that since you are a “R”, you don’t “get” this, but allow me to explain.

    While Hillary is the likely Dem nominee and would get more than 50% of the Dem primary vote in PA, you forget that this Senate race is a 3-way (or possibly 4-way) race. That changes the math considerably.

    Easily 1/3 of the PA Dem primary voters are for Bernie. The outcome of the primary could easily be:

    35% winner
    30% 2nd place
    25% 3rd place
    10% 4th place

    So, if Fetterman got all the Bernie voters, he would easily win the primary. So, the higher the percentage of Bernie voters that link Bernie and Fetterman the better Fetterman will do.

    McGinty HAS to back Clinton, as she is the establishment candidate, and supporters like Rendell have close ties to the Clintons. Also, McGinty needs Hillary’s coattails and high female turnout.

    Sestak has tied himself to the Clintons already, and campaigned for Hillary last time around. He can’t switch to Bernie.

  18. As of Monday, there will be less than 100 days until the Primary. Why aren’t there any Democratic debates scheduled yet? Surely there will be several chances to see all three candidates on the same stage before we vote, won’t there?

  19. Senator – I hope Obama returns the favor. His support of Fetterman will go a long way on the other end of the State.

  20. I don’t care about the endorsement… I’m just glad Chris Martinez is back!

  21. patt tomey is diskgrace to everbudy livin in pennsva he hates woman and vetrans and aborshun suportrs.

  22. It’s pretty damn pathetic when Toomey’s paid mouthpiece posts here about some obscure McGinty town meeting where a volunteer asked a question about student loans (as if that’s some sort of political sin). Meanwhile, Toomey and Senate Repubs have blocked repeated efforts to allow students to get market-rate interest and ease some of their huge financial burden. Assuming Democrats don’t self-destruct during the primary, Katie is going to make mincemeat out of Toomey in the general and will be an incredible Senator for Pennsylvania.

  23. Probably the Clinton rally for Kathleen Kane was less important than the $2 million her husband gave her campaign.

  24. aint no comedy harry im jest saying katlyn mccingy is a lot bettar to be senitor than phil tomey tomey aint no good for womens in pennys.

  25. Huge comedy there Chris, shtick is about all you have left, I guess. Don’t take my word for it, just read the news story.

    McGinty was busted and to make matters worse, she tried to pin it on the poor single mother as well as trying to spin it that Toomey was attacking the single mother, which he most certainly did not.

  26. harry tailor ur wrong Katelyn cane aint never done no planting of nobody u lying bout that . . .

  27. barney sandors gonna beet the lady clenton and he gonna be grate leeder for ammerica, dats for shore

  28. I like Senator Fetterman; about a year ago I stumbled onto the compassionate work he is doing in an area of the country challenged by many of the social ills that plague our nation. This is the first article I’ve seen about him in a long time. God bless you you and your work Senator Fetterman and thank you for supporting Senator Bernie Sanders. GO BERNIE GO!!!

  29. What would happen to this race if Bernie endorsed Fetterman?

    I hope the Fetterman people are working on that. 🙂

  30. Fetterman was also one of the few Pennsylvania elected officials to endorse Barack Obama early in the 2008 race, and was in the distinct minority in western PA where only a few elected officials were for Obama over Clinton even in April.

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