HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Pennsylvania Republicans like Democratic Senator John Fetterman more than his GOP companion, Senator Dave McCormick, a recent poll shows.
Seventy-three percent of self-identified Republicans said last week, in response to the survey by The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena University, that they have a positive opinion of Fetterman. Ten percent fewer said the same for McCormick.
Fetterman’s standing in the GOP has improved over the past two years, as he criticizes his Democratic colleagues on a range of issues and insults his party’s progressive wing, often in interviews with conservative media figures gushing over President Donald Trump.
Prior to his increasingly public defense of the administration, Pennsylvania Republicans looked down on Fetterman. The trio of pollsters found in mid-2024 that a quarter of the group backed him.
In one of Fetterman’s more recent interviews, with Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this month, the senator claimed his Democratic colleagues were afraid of the party’s far-left members.
“I mean, they can say that in politics, you can define what you’re afraid of is if you’re unwilling to criticize them,” he said. “So, now, like, I think it’s entirely appropriate. I think it’s a responsibility as a Democrat to call this out.”
Fetterman is one of the few members of his party to publicly attack its left-wing members. His more pragmatic colleagues have instead spoken cautiously about groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, welcoming its members with a friendly smile but keeping them at an arms length.
“In this upcoming election, candidates can be very clear about where they strongly disagree with the DSA, which is probably on most issues,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, the Maryland Democrat, told NBC News’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “But they can also talk about their own plans, so, you know, I’m not afraid to debate. I think that those in the Democratic Party who are afraid of a healthy debate are missing the point.”
Van Hollen’s tone may help Democrats maintain a more united front against Republicans as the next Congress takes place. The party, which is expected to add a number of seats through the midterm elections, will need to keep its congressional voting bloc strong if it hopes to thwart Trump’s final two years of MAGA governance.
As part of that bloc, Fetterman would do his party well to limit criticism of his liberal colleagues, despite the pleasure it brings his Republican constituents.
Do you have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.