Despite supporting each other previously, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman has not been much of a Bernie Bro in 2022.
But with Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz closing in the polls, the Fetterman campaign is pulling out all the stops. A new Trafalgar Group poll has Fetterman at 47.2 and Oz at 44.8. Libertarian Erik Gerhardt was at 3.4 percent.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent out fundraising text messages on Friday asking people to send Fetterman $10 because Fetterman will “stand up to corporate greed and bigotry.”
Sanders, an avowed socialist who honeymooned in the Soviet Union, said in the text Fetterman “will transform this country and the lives of the working class.”
Fetterman endorsed Sanders when he ran for president in 2016, but did not in 2020. And Sanders had boosted Fetterman’s unsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate and his successful run for lieutenant governor.
When asked about being a progressive in the primary, Fetterman, said that he was “just a Democrat.”
But Fetterman has also been endorsed by progressive luminary Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Now Fetterman is bringing in President Joe Biden to a fundraiser on Oct. 20. This even though Biden himself is increasingly unpopular with rising inflation, a war in Ukraine, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and rising crime rates dogging him. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden’s performance.
When asked about Fetterman bringing in both Sanders and Biden, Jeff Jubelirer, vice president of Bellevue Communications Group, said, “I’d say that it’s more ‘all hands on deck’ raising money and generating enthusiasm among the different constituencies of the Democratic electorate (the progressive wing – Sanders; and the more traditional/moderate wing – Biden) ahead of the election.
“As Election Day gets closer, I’m confident we will see the candidates doing all they can to ensure they turn out their biggest supporters, which are their party loyalists,” said Jubelirer.
The Fetterman campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
“John Fetterman is falling behind so he’s resorting to desperate lies and cheap distractions. Unlike no-show Fetterman, Dr. Oz is talking to voters – Republicans, Democrats, and Independents – who want to see a change from the failed policies of the past. Dr. Oz is running against the most pro-murderer candidate, and we are going to win in November because Pennsylvanians can’t afford a Bernie Sanders socialist that wants to release 1/3 of Pennsylvania inmates, decriminalize all drugs, and eliminate life sentences for murderers. John Fetterman has already failed to serve the voters of Pennsylvania twice – why would they give him a third chance?” asked Brittany Yanick, communications director for Dr. Oz for Senate.
Fetterman gave a brief, 15-minute speech to an enthusiastic crowd in Bucks County last weekend. He acknowledged that he had a stroke in April and is “so grateful to be here today.”
He promised to support the Pro Act that would make it easier to unionize, to expand healthcare, to vote to legalize abortion nationwide, support veterans, raise the minimum wage, and to do away with the Senate filibuster. While he did not mention his more controversial positions concerning legalizing marijuana, he said he is running on his record of fighting crime as a mayor of a small town in western Pennsylvania.
Braddock “we went more than five years without a murder,” Fetterman said. He also did not mention his votes as chairman of the state Board of Pardons to free convicted murderers.
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