BREAKING: Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman Just Announced He Will Be Choosing to Stay a Democrat
As tensions between John Fetterman and fellow Democrats have grown since he took office in 2023, the Pennsylvania lawmaker has also developed a series of unexpected relationships with Republican senators.
With Democrats’ prospects of flipping the Senate improving ahead of November, some Republicans have signaled increasing openness toward Fetterman. Pennsylvania GOP Chair Sen. Greg Rothman suggested last month that backing Fetterman’s reelection could be possible if he switched parties.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said during an appearance with Sean Hannity that the host should encourage Fetterman to become a Republican in exchange for presidential support. Trump hosted Fetterman and his wife at Mar-a-Lago shortly after he won election to a second term in November 2024.
Despite the speculation, Fetterman has repeatedly said he has no plans to leave the Democrat Party, including in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post this week.
“Being an independent voice that works with the other side to deliver for Pennsylvanians might put me at odds with the party that I have stayed committed to and have no plans to leave — but I will continue to put the commonwealth and the country first,” Fetterman wrote.
“Plus, I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats,” he added, noting that his party has left him on issues it used to support such as siding with Israel and keeping the government fully funded and open.
Although Fetterman votes with Democrats most of the time, he has publicly broken with party leaders on several high-profile issues, including government shutdown disputes, the Iran conflict, immigration enforcement, and even Trump’s proposal for a White House ballroom. He has also supported Trump’s Cabinet nominees and criticized some Democrats for what he described as “Trump derangement syndrome,” a phrase commonly used by Republicans.
While many Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, have voiced support for Israel, Fetterman has been especially outspoken in criticizing the party’s far-left wing over its backing of the Palestinian cause.
In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman has recently polled significantly higher among Republicans than Democrats. A February survey found 73% of Republicans approved of his job performance, compared with 22% of Democrats.
Left-wing groups that once backed Fetterman have increasingly protested outside his office, and his staff has seen notable turnover, with some former aides publicly voicing opposition or raising concerns about his health.
Fetterman has also highlighted his bipartisan relationships, including with Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, both Republicans he has collaborated with on legislation.
He has also been spending more time socializing with Republican colleagues on Capitol Hill, according to reports cited by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
That has led to increased criticism from members of Fetterman’s party, including Shapiro, who has had a chilly relationship with the former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor. Shapiro said during a CNN interview this week Fetterman should “honor” the fact that he was elected as a Democrat.
“I don’t know what Sen. Fetterman is going to do,” Shapiro told CNN host Jake Tapper. “I know that Pennsylvanians voted for a Democrat to represent them in the United States Senate, and so I think he needs to honor that and continue with his service to Pennsylvania and hopefully get back to what he was elected to do and reflect the will of the people.”
The Inquirer noted further: “Attacks on Fetterman will likely ramp up from his own party as potential contenders gear up for the 2028 election. U.S. Reps. Brendan Boyle (D, Philadelphia), Chris Deluzio (D., Allegheny), and former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Western Pennsylvania Democrat who lost the Senate primary to Fetterman, have all been floated as options.”
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
