In the Pennsylvania Senate race, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman leads the pack of Democrats vying to be the party’s nominee to fill the void left by retired Republican Senator Pat Toomey.
An election victory would mark a new level in what has been a historic rise in Pennsylvania politics that began in a hollowed-out metal city, where he is mayor.
He had a commanding lead in the number one polls over Democratic Congressman Conor Lamb and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta. If he wins the Democratic nomination, Fetterman will face the winner of the number one Republican race that includes famed doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund. manager Dave McCormick.
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In 2018, Fetterman ousted a Democratic incumbent to Pennsylvania lieutenant governor.
Fetterguy, 6 feet 8 inches, tattooed and without a coat, looks more like a blue-collar worker than an elected official, but his appearance has served him politically.
He was elected mayor of Braddock, a small town near Pittsburgh, in 2005.
Fetterman is credited with helping breathe new life into the metal in the city of a few thousand people who have reportedly noticed their population shrinking by 90%.
Major print and television media have described Fetterman’s role as mayor of Braddock over the years. The New York Times dubbed him “the rust mayor” in 2011.
In 2016, Fetterman hoped to increase his applause in Washington, but failed to surpass the Democratic number one in his first attempt at the Senate.
He remained mayor of Braddock until he took office in 2019.
As lieutenant governor, Fetterman championed the legalization of recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania and served as chairman of the state’s pardon commission which, according to Fetterman’s crusade website, “has more commutation applicants than any lieutenant governor for decades. “
During the campaign, Fetterman questioned his warring parties about a 2013 incident in Braddock that happened when he was mayor.
Fetterman brandished a shotgun and confronted a black runner after Fetterman said he heard a series of gunshots. The runner claimed Fetterman pointed the gun at his chest. Fetterman denied that claim and said he was unaware of the runner’s career in the incident because he was dressed in a mask.
Fetterman’s platform includes raising the federal minimum wage to $15 or more, transitioning to renewable energy “as temporarily as possible” to combat climate change, and legalizing marijuana nationwide.
Many associate him with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party because he subsidized Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders as president in 2016, and Sanders subsidized him in his run for lieutenant governor in 2018. In the past, Fetterman supported a single-payer fitness formula. “before it becomes widespread,” according to his campaign website.
But he resisted the label “progressive,” telling NBC News he”s just a Democrat. “
Fetterman is pro-union. He pointed to his own to get rid of Senate obstruction and said he would vote to codify the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade.
Several local elected officials, in addition to Braddock’s current mayor, Fetterman. The Pennsylvania Postal Workers Union and a segment of the United Steel Workers were among its unionists.
Fetterman earned a bachelor’s degree from Albright College in 1991. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Fetterman is married to Giselle Barreto Fetterman, who helped start a non-profit food aid organization. Barreto Fetterman, an undocumented former immigrant from Brazil, is the girl of the moment from Pennsylvania. In 2020, she made headlines after an incident in which a woman hurled racist slurs at her.
Fetterman has 3 children with his wife. The family circle lives at a changed car dealership in Braddock, according to its Crusade website.