The Pennsylvania Working Families Party has launched an organizing effort to recruit and support a potential Democratic primary challenger to U.S. Sen. John Fetterman in the 2028 election cycle, following a growing break with the senator over healthcare policy, Senate votes, and support for Trump administration nominees.
The effort, overseen by the state organization and launched through the national Working Families Party PAC last November, does not currently identify or endorse a specific challenger and comes several years before Fetterman’s first term expires. However, party leaders say groundwork is already underway, including training prospective candidates, mobilizing volunteers, and raising funds in anticipation of a future Democratic primary contest.
“Has John Fetterman disappointed you? Us too,” the party stated this week. “500,000 Pennsylvanians are about to see their healthcare premiums rise because of the Republican budget bill he supported. People across Pennsylvania did not put time, money, and energy into his campaign just to elect someone who votes against our interests time and time again.”
The Working Families Party supported Fetterman during his successful 2022 general election campaign, after initially endorsing state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta in the Democratic primary. While Pennsylvania law does not allow the party to cross-endorse candidates on its ballot line, unlike in neighboring New York, the party said at the time that it invested heavily in voter outreach efforts on Fetterman’s behalf. In a statement released during the 2022 race, the party claimed it had “built one of the largest direct voter contact programs in the state,” with a focus on engaging low-turnout communities.
The current organizing effort centers on a dedicated website that encourages supporters to pressure Fetterman’s fundraising operation by requesting refunds of past campaign donations. The site also seeks to recruit volunteers and includes a “sell-out tracker” cataloging votes, nominations, and public statements that the party argues reflect a break from its policy priorities.
Among its stated concerns, the Working Families Party points to Fetterman’s vote with a Republican-led continuing budget proposal to avert a government shutdown, which the party said would raise Affordable Care Act marketplace premiums for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians. The party has also criticized his support for several Trump administration nominees, including Pam Bondi, Pete Hegseth, Mike Huckabee, and Kristi Noem, as well as a handful of votes where Fetterman was the only Democrat to side with Republican lawmakers.
The party has further pointed to Fetterman’s Senate attendance record, citing data from GovTrack and reporting from national outlets indicating that he has missed a significant number of floor votes and committee meetings since mid-2024, outside of periods when he was on medical leave. It argues that his attendance record and limited public appearances in Pennsylvania reflect a lack of engagement with constituents.
In an appearance on Fox News, Fetterman dismissed the effort, saying any candidate put forward by the Working Families Party would make him appear like a “reasonable guy.” No candidate has formally announced a campaign for the 2028 Democratic U.S. Senate primary, including Fetterman himself.
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