While U.S. Sen. John Fetterman made a video appearance at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, the Pennsylvania congressman remains a Democrat.
Still, questions have been raised about whether Fetterman will remain with his party of if he'll follow in the footsteps of former senators Joe Manchin, I-West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Arizona, both of whom were initially elected as Democrats but later became independents.
Here's what Fetterman has said on the issue.
Is Fetterman changing political parties?
Pennsylvania Democrats wouldn't offer support for Fetterman when asked about the possibility of him running for reelection earlier this year. And the Commonwealth's GOP Chair Senator Greg Rothman has been watching to see if Fetterman will jump ship since at least April,
he told PennLive.
"We’re still trying to wrestle with what happens if John Fetterman switched party and becomes a Republican," Rothman said.
Fetterman is a Democrat, and he has said he does not plan to change parties unless Democrats stop providing aid to Israel.
"If they put that in our platform — no aid for Israel — and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me," Fetterman told NBC News. "Democrats, we always should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know? In the only democracy in the entire region, that’s Israel. So I’m always proud to stand with Israel."
Despite declining support from Democrats, Fetterman responded positively when asked if he believed he would win a primary bid for reelection during a conversation in CNN's The Situation Room.
"Yeah," he said, then added, "I mean, I mean, that's — we don't know exactly, but overall, it's 2026, so it's, it's really kind of a theoretic."
What is Fetterman's approval rating?
Democrats' support for Fetterman has declined. A July Quinnipiac poll showed he was down 69%–19% among his own party and 48%–44% among independents. Overall, 52% of voters wanted him to leave the Democratic party, while 31% said he should stay.
But Republican voters like Fetterman — more than they like McCormick, according to one poll.
The same Quinnipiac poll showed that Fetterman was up 77%–12% with Republicans. Additionally, an August poll, conducted by The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena University, showed that Fetterman had a higher approval rating than McCormick. While 79% of self-identified Republicans had a positive view of Fetterman favorably, 62% viewed McCormick favorably.
When is Fetterman up for reelection?
Fetterman can't run for office again until 2028. As of Sept. 10, he had yet to announce official plans to run for reelection.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is John Fetterman still a Democrat? His approval ratings among parties
