Boyle bows out on challenging Fetterman in 2028

Newly reelected Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) said Wednesday he does not plan to challenge Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) for his Senate seat in 2028.

Boyle thanked supporters for reelecting him Tuesday night in a Facebook post. The Hill’s election forecasting partner Decision Desk HQ projected he had won 80.78 percent of voters’ support as of 3:25 p.m. EST on Wednesday, with 80 percent of votes counted. His opponent, Republican Jessica Arriaga, claimed 19.22 percent of the Pennsylvania electorate.

“For months, many of my supporters have urged me to consider running for US Senate in 2028,” he wrote. “I have always said that after the November 2026 election, I would make a decision based on one simple question: where can I have the biggest impact on public policy?”

“After months of consulting many people, including current senators and past committee chairs, it is quite clear that I can have a much bigger impact as House Budget Committee Chairman than as a freshman member of the Senate,” he continued. “Therefore, I will not be running for the Senate.”

Boyle, who previously served as the House Budget Committee’s top Democrat, will become its chair in January now that his party has reclaimed the lower chamber. He said he hopes to use his elevated status to “finally get this nation’s fiscal health back on track,” “bring more resources back home” and “fight for economic policies that finally help working Americans.”

The Pennsylvania Democrat previously chose to forego a bid to run for the Senate when Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) opted not to seek another term. Boyle said in April 2021 he considered his family when deciding against a statewide campaign.

Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) in September said he “might” challenge Fetterman in the 2028 primary, though he said his focus was on helping House candidates in the lead-up to Tuesday’s elections. He suggested he would “deal with 2028 when we get past” the midterms.

“John Fetterman’s nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail,” Deluzio told host Chris Stirewalt on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” in September. “And again, to be very blunt, I don’t think there’s any Democrat in Pennsylvania who wants him campaigning with them, even if he would show up.”

Fetterman has defended his party affiliation despite straying from Democrats on key issues and facing backlash from supporters over his support for Israel. Democrats blasted him in September after he made a video appearance boosting his fellow Pennsylvania senator, the GOP’s Dave McCormick, at the Republican National Committee’s first-ever midterm convention in Dallas.

He told reporters at the time he was not considering switching parties, later saying if he became a Republican, “ then I’ll be a liar .”

But the Pennsylvania senator remains critical of his party’s turn against Israel and defends the country’s military campaign in Gaza. Fetterman said in July his party abandoning the country’s Middle Eastern ally would be a red line.

“If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave ,” he told The Hill’s Alexander Bolton at the Hill Nation Summit.