Fetterman says he’ll still caucus with Democrats after video appearance at GOP midterm convention

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) confirmed Wednesday night he still plans to caucus with the Democratic Party despite making a video appearance during the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention.

“My remarks introduced Dave McCormick as a great American and friend. We are in different parties, but we are both Team PA,” Fetterman said in a statement released after his prerecorded remarks aired. “We have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars back to Pennsylvania, fought for improved transportation and affordable housing, and the Steel Way of Life.”

He continued, “I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party—and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.”

Fetterman, not mentioned in the event’s agenda, introduced via video fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick (R) — who spoke in person during the Dallas convention’s first night. The Democrat praised his GOP counterpart in the recording, which played on all screens in the American Airlines Center.

“David McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done,” Fetterman said in the video said, highlighting their joint efforts to revitalize Pennsylvania’s manufacturing industry — an effort President Trump also backed.

The Democrat went on to call McCormick a “great friend.” Fetterman has built a close relationship with his fellow Pennsylvania senator; the two launched a joint political action committee, Common Ground PA, in July — seeking to target donors who support both lawmakers.

Fetterman has attracted the ire of his Democratic colleagues in both chambers for repeatedly breaking with the party. In July, the Democrat was the only member of his party to vote against a war powers resolution seeking to force Trump to wind down the Iran war.

Just days before this vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had pledged to welcome Fetterman to the Republican Party, adding that he and other GOP colleagues had already approached the Pennsylvania Democrat about the idea.

Earlier that summer, Fetterman said at the Hill Nation Summit that he would leave the Democratic Party if it turned its back on Israel entirely.

A late August New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena University poll of registered voters in Pennsylvania found that a higher percentage of Republicans — 73 percent — had a favorable opinion of Fetterman compared to Democrats, with 22 percent.

Fetterman also polled higher than Pennsylvania’s GOP senator among Republican respondents, with only 63 percent viewing McCormick favorably.