‘I’m not going to be a Republican!’: John Fetterman promises, again, not to defect

WASHINGTON — Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., insisted Tuesday he won’t become a Republican, showing frustration with the ongoing questions about his intentions.

“I’m not going to be a Republican!” Fetterman said to reporters on Capitol Hill, raising his voice and shaking his head. “If I turn a Republican, then I’ll be a liar.”

“My name is not on the ballot. Like, chill and wait for the midterm here,” he added. “I’ve always been a Democrat. It’s like, no matter how many times I say that, I’m still getting asked just getting into the elevator.”

Fetterman, first elected in 2022, has grown increasingly distant from his party, mainly over his impassioned and unyielding defense of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He’s a regular guest on Fox News, where he gets asked about left-wing members of the Democratic Party and readily whacks them.

Those positions and actions have drawn significant attention on Fetterman as a Democrat, but would become far less remarkable if he defected to the GOP.

Fetterman sparked the speculation in mid-July when he opened the door to leaving the Democratic Party if it “officially” became “anti-Israel” in the party platform. As Republicans invited him to defect, he wondered aloud to NBC News days later whether Democrats still want him in the party. In response, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Fetterman “a very good member of Congress” and one Democrats respect.

The speculation arose again last week when Fetterman made a video appearance at the two-day Republican midterm convention in Dallas to introduce his “friend,” Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa. Fetterman issued a statement shortly after that saying he won’t switch parties if Democrats capture Senate control in November.

His seat comes up for re-election in 2028, and Fetterman’s prospects of winning renomination as a Democrat are rapidly fading. A New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena poll last month found Fetterman’s approval rating among Democrats was just 22%, having fallen precipitously from 74% in May 2024.

Yet, despite his rising approval rating among Pennsylvania Republicans in the same poll, his prospects of winning a GOP primary may be even more remote. Fetterman would have to defend his wide array of liberal positions — on matters such as expanding health care access, raising the federal minimum wage, supporting LGBTQ rights and championing legal abortion.

On Tuesday, Fetterman ignored questions about a recently created X account reportedly run by his former staffers who have turned against him. He also declined to comment on a recent Wall Street Journal report detailing examples of Fetterman showing a lack of interest in doing the job of a senator, citing interviews with more than a dozen former staffers and lawmakers. Neither he nor his office commented for that story, but Fetterman called its reporting “smears” in a statement to CNN.

One person who was quick to defend Fetterman was McCormick.

“These stories are the latest example of outrageously disloyal staff and forces on the Left using anonymous leaks to cancel my friend John Fetterman,” he said on X. “They hate that he is an independent thinker who refuses to fall into line so they want to silence him.”