ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

MAGA’s Favorite Democrat Gets Primary Challenger

Sen. John Fetterman seems to be on the outs with an electrified Democrat base.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has his first primary challenger for his Senate seat.

On Monday, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer, Palestinian American writer and finance expert Ahmed Moor, 42, announced that he would run as a Democrat to replace Fetterman in 2028.

Moor, a member of the Democratic Socialist of America, told the Inquirer he wanted to campaign in stark opposition to Fetterman, 57, who has stoked ire among Democratic officials and voters alike for repeatedly crossing the aisle to the Trump camp.

Fetterman has yet to announce whether he will run for re-election. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

Despite the lack of reaction from Fetterman, news of a challenger inspired celebration from those on the left who say he is persona non grata for his hawkish positions on Trump’s war with Iran, support for weapon shipments to Israel and votes to increase funding for the Department of Homeland Security.

“I’m gonna show up to the polls in 2028 specifically to vote Fetterman out,” one X user wrote. “You probably have my vote already.”

“Ahmed Moor: born in Rafah/Gaza, went to high school and college in PA. Would be the ultimate, karmic candidate to take @SenFettermanPA GOP (but really Israel) Senate seat in PA,” another wrote.

Fetterman’s position in the Democratic Party has been sensitive since Trump’s re-election in 2024. According to a Quinnipiac University poll from last month, only 13 percent of Democrats had a favorable opinion of Fetterman, while 72 percent of Republicans held a positive view.

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Unlike many of his colleagues in the Senate, Fetterman did not actively campaign for any Democrats in his state during the midterm elections. Instead, the senator left a surprise video message in support of Republican Sen. Dave McCormick, which played at the “Trumpapalooza” midterm convention in Dallas.

“I’m a commonsense Democrat. I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life,” Fetterman said in the video.

On Sunday, Gov. Josh Shapiro told NBC’s Meet the Press that Pennsylvania voters have little appetite for “people enabling Donald Trump,” and that Fetterman had “a lot of work to do to earn the trust of the people in Pennsylvania.”

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He added that Democrats were “lining up” to unseat Fetterman, although Moor has been the only person to officially declare his candidacy so far.

According to NBC10 Philadelphia, some Pennsylvania Democrats have reportedly weighed running for Fetterman’s seat, including U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.

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Christopher Buchanan

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