Senator John Fetterman, the Pennsylvania Democrat who has spent much of the past two years antagonizing his own party, is now turning to Republicans for campaign cash. In recent weeks, Fetterman has sent fundraising appeals through email addresses associated with Republican candidates and committees, including one from “[email protected].” One of the messages declared, “I’m always going to reject Socialism and the Anti-American way of life,” and urged recipients to help Fetterman “stand with America” and “reject the extremes.” The same address has also been used for messages supporting President Trump’s voting restrictions and urging readers to donate to Republican candidates in the midterms. The emails, reported earlier by The Intercept and also obtained by TIME, are the latest sign of how dramatically Fetterman’s electoral strategy has changed since arriving in the Senate in 2023.
The former progressive backed by Bernie Sanders has increasingly built his political identity around opposition to the left, unwavering support for Israel, and a willingness to embrace conservative voters. His campaign is now reaching into the fundraising infrastructure of the party he insists he has no intention of joining, as his support among Democrats has eroded and his fundraising has sharply declined. The fundraising appeals appeared under several other Republican-linked domains, including Unshakeable Conservatives and Freedom Faction.
It remains unclear who owns the lists or the arrangement Fetterman’s campaign has with the groups behind them. Campaigns routinely rent or otherwise obtain access to donor lists as a way of reaching new potential contributors. Fetterman’s office did not return a request for comment.
Another fundraising email sent this month from the gopsquad handle came with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah listed as the sender. It was focused on Fetterman, and began, “I just got an email from John.
He's basically a Republican now.” Fetterman has not said whether he will seek a second term in 2028. Over the weekend, during an on-stage interview at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, he said he was raising money with a reelection bid “as the possibility” and suggested he would wait until after the November midterms to decide. Several Pennsylvania Democrats are already considering a challenge to him in 2028, even as Republicans continue to encourage him to leave the party.
Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat who has been critical of Fetterman, says that the latest fundraising effort fit a pattern that was already apparent. Chris Deluzio, another Pennsylvania Democrat, says that Fetterman has become a “distraction” from the party’s effort to win the midterms and combat the Trump Administration. Anyone who stands in the way of that work will have to answer to the voters soon enough,” Deluzio says.
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