John Fetterman brings bid for U.S. Senate to Greensburg as primary nears

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor and a leading Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat, made his ultimate goal clear when he spoke to an informal gathering of about 130 people Tuesday evening in Greensburg.

During a meet-and-greet campaign stop on the patio of El Diablo Brewing Co. & Wood-Fired Kitchen, Fetterman said, “The most important thing is that we turn this state blue,” at least as far as representation in the Senate chamber in Washington, D.C., goes. “There’s too much at stake.”

Fetterman stopped in the afternoon in Fayette County, at the airport in Connellsville, with voters set to decide just a week later on party nominees for succeeding two-term Sen. Pat Toomey. The Republican incumbent decided not to seek a third term.

Dressed in a hoodie and shorts at the Westmoreland event, Fetterman acknowledged, “This is going to be a tough (election) cycle for Democrats. It’s so important that we flip this (Senate) seat.”

A resident and former mayor of Braddock, Fetterman said he’s seeking the Senate seat in order to further “core Democratic values.” He has campaigned on such issues as abortion rights, support for unions, clean energy, nationwide legalization of marijuana, protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and a belief that “Black lives matter.”

Fetterman said voters he’s spoken to have expressed “anger and outrage” over the recent leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion that could overturn the abortion rights established in Roe v. Wade.

“We’re talking about something that was decided 50 years ago,” he said. “We need to codify Roe v. Wade.”

Paul Thomas, 69, an independent voter from Penn Hills who attended the Greensburg event, said support for abortion rights is one of the issues that has prompted him to support Fetterman’s campaign.

“We need progressive policies,” he said. “If we get two more Democratic senators, we can get something done” in Washington, D.C.

Jan Mikan, 65, of Ligonier Township, her son, Tom Mikan Jr., 40, of Greensburg, and family friend Barry Rearick, 67, of Jeannette, indicated they favor Fetterman’s pro-union stance.

A civilian working in the defense industry, the younger Mikan noted he was a member of two unions over 15 years before becoming a supervisor.

“I still support the rights of our workers,” he said.

When speaking with Fetterman, Mikan Jr. asked him to support development of passenger rail service from Greensburg to Pittsburgh, where he works.

“We would solve a lot of problems by using mass transportation like the rest of the world does,” Mikan said. “We wouldn’t need electric cars if we had trains.”

Before winning election as lieutenant governor, Fetterman ran a previous campaign for the U.S. Senate, losing in the 2016 Democratic primary.

This time, Fetterman has been the hands-down front-runner in the Democratic field.

According to a poll conducted April 20 through May 1 by Franklin & Marshall College, Fetterman was leading Rep. Conor Lamb by a margin of 53% to 14%. State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta was favored by 4% of the 357 Democrats who responded to the poll, while Jenkintown Councilwoman Alex Khalil garnered just 1%. There were 22% undecided on a candidate.

Though Westmoreland County is in Fetterman’s Southwestern Pennsylvania backyard, its political profile is far different from that of Fetterman’s home county of Allegheny.

In Allegheny County, there are more than 525,000 registered Democrats, more than double the number of Republicans on the voting rolls. Allegheny was one of 13 key Pennsylvania counties that favored Joe Biden in the presidential election, allowing him to win the state with 50% of the overall vote compared to just under 49% for former President Trump.

Neighboring Westmoreland County voted for Trump over Biden by a margin of 63.5% to about 35%. That reflects the local GOP ascendancy that culminated last year in control of all county-level elected offices, save for the county commissioner seat held by Gina Cerilli Thrasher.

Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats in Westmoreland by nearly 120,000 to about 96,000, according to Pennsylvania Department of State figures.

“Westmoreland County needs to go back into the blue category,” Fetterman said.

If he wins the Democratic nomination for Senate, Fetterman said, “We’re going to be competitive in counties where (Republicans) are used to not having to compete. I’m talking about shrinking the margin and suppressing their enthusiasm and their turnout.”