Not everyone is sticking with their party when it comes to voting in the upcoming elections, and now Democratic Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman has launched a campaign welcoming Republicans and former Republicans. NBC10’s Lauren Mayk reports.
A new push about to be launched by the Fetterman campaign embraces support by current and former Republicans, and features their voices backing the Democrat as he aims to flip Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat, NBC10 has learned.
“I’ve been a Republican my entire life,” a Montgomery County man says in one video as he looks at the camera. “I’ll be voting for John Fetterman.”
In another, a woman from Scranton says she “used to be a Republican” and “what made me switch was what happened at the Capitol on January 6.” She also says she’ll support Fetterman, saying “he stands for the working class” and for “choice.”
The campaign is launching “Republicans for Fetterman,” which will include both digital and television ads, with five weeks to go before Election Day and as polls have tightened in the race that could determine who controls the U.S. Senate.
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“Fetterman’s populist brand and commitment to hold Washington accountable has earned him not only support for voters across the political spectrum, but unprecedented levels of enthusiasm that stand in particularly stark contrast with Dr. Oz,” the Fetterman campaign said in a release to NBC10 ahead of the launch.
Fetterman’s opponent, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has made multiple stops in Democrat-heavy Philadelphia recently.
“Dr. Oz wants the support of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who want to see safer streets, lower taxes, and a stronger economy for the middle class,” Oz campaign spokesperson Brittany Yanick said in a statement to NBC10. “John Fetterman can't be bothered to even show up in Philadelphia and talk to folks, and the one time he did come, he didn't take questions and dodged the media.”
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Yanick also called Fetterman’s position on drugs “radical.”
So far, Fetterman is capturing about 7% of the Republican vote, and Oz is getting about 3% of the Democratic vote, said Lee Miringoff, the director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which recently released polling data on the race.
“There’s some crossover voting here,” Miringoff said. “It’s not enormous, but in a close race the answer to the question ‘what makes the difference?’ ultimately is: they all do.”
Miringoff also said the poll found those undecided in the governor’s race tend to be Oz voters, so whether those voters show up and vote or skip a race on the ballot could affect the contests or how close they are.
Democrat Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s current attorney general, has already released lists of current and former Republican officials supporting his campaign for governor.
Longtime Republican Jim Schultz, who worked in the White House counsel’s office in the Trump administration, penned an op-ed announcing his support for Shapiro.
In an interview Monday, he called Shapiro a “tremendous public servant” and “tough on crime.” Schultz plans to split his ticket in the big races this year, backing Democrat Shapiro for governor, and Republican Oz for Senate. His decision comes as voters in Pennsylvania can no longer vote “straight ticket” by choosing one party without having to go through each race on the ballot, after Act 77 eliminated that option.
“That gives people an ability to go candidate by candidate and actually think about the folks that they’re voting for,” Schultz said. “And I think that takes a state that’s already been a ticket splitting state and make it more so.”
The crossover push isn’t coming just from the campaigns – or in Pennsylvania. The Republican Accountability PAC is operating in multiple swing states including Pennsylvania, where it’s focusing on the governor’s race.
“We’re sort of going after the types of Republicans that ran to win their primary on ‘the election was stolen,’ they downplayed January 6, and we think from a democracy standpoint, that’s terrible,” said Gunner Ramer, political director for the Republican Accountability PAC.
Andrea Fellerman Kesack of Horsham is among the Republicans whose voices the PAC is looking to amplify this year to reach others. She said she won’t be supporting either of her party’s nominees for governor or Senate.
“I cannot support people who are anti democracy promoting conspiracy theories and outright lies. I just can’t do that,” she said.
Ramer said at this point Republican Accountability PAC is watching the Senate race in Pennsylvania.
