Senator John Fetterman isn’t facing reelection until 2028, but the progressive organization that helped propel him to victory in 2022 has already seen enough. The Working Families Party (WFP), once a staunch ally of the Pennsylvania Democrat, has formally launched a campaign to unseat him, signaling a definitive break between the senator and the party’s left flank.
The organization rolled out a new website, PrimaryFetterman.com, dedicated to recruiting a challenger for the next cycle. The site offers a scathing critique of Fetterman’s recent tenure, providing pages of opposition research and even offering links for former supporters to request refunds on their past campaign donations.
“We supported John Fetterman in 2022. Since then, he’s sold us out. It’s time to replace him,” the website’s landing page declares.
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The group’s grievances center on Fetterman’s increasing willingness to break with the Democratic Party line. The WFP specifically cited his vote for a Republican budget bill—which they claim will raise healthcare costs for half a million Pennsylvanians—and his support for a high number of President Donald Trump’s nominees.
“Fetterman was the deciding vote for a Republican budget bill that will increase healthcare costs for 500,000 Pennsylvanians,” the group stated. “He consistently skips votes and Senate work. We deserve better.”
The initiative, which NBC News reports began taking shape in November, is being spearheaded in part by Nick Gavio, the WFP’s mid-Atlantic communications director and a former Fetterman staffer. Gavio contrasted the senator’s recent comments about purchasing Greenland with domestic economic concerns.
“While Sen. John Fetterman is supporting Trump’s use of American tax dollars to ‘run’ Venezuela or buy Greenland, 500,000 Pennsylvanians are about to see their health care premiums rise,” Gavio said. “People across Pennsylvania did not put time, money and energy into supporting his campaign just to elect a Democrat who votes against our interests time and time again.”
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Fetterman, who has cultivated a reputation as a political maverick, appears unbothered by the primary threat. In an interview on Fox News late last year, he dismissed the effort, suggesting a challenge from the far left would only strengthen his general election appeal.
“I guarantee whoever they put up, they’re going to make me look the reasonable guy that’s going to work with both sides together and find a way for Pennsylvania,” Fetterman joked.
The friction comes as Fetterman increasingly positions himself as an independent voice. He was the first sitting Democrat to meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago following the 2024 election and was instrumental in the deal that ended the government shutdown in the fall of 2025.
Most recently, Fetterman aligned himself with Trump on the issue of acquiring Greenland, telling reporters on Jan. 7 that the idea was “not scandalous” and that “ideally we could purchase it.”
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