Pennsylvania Democratic Senate candidate plays to rural, working-class communities

Hannah Trudo reports for The Hill under the headline, "How Fetterman is pulling away in Pennsylvania."  The story is about Pennsylvania Lt. Governor, John Fetterman, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat.  Two other Democrats are in the race, including U.S. Representative Connor Lamb and Malcolm Kenyatta, an openly gay member of the state legislature.  

The way fellow populists Sanders and Trump had electoral overlap, including with working class and rural voters, there’s potential for Fetterman to grab voters who are searching for something different in pockets of Pennsylvania that are traditionally overlooked.

“Fetterman has united people who understand that to win these races Democrats need to once again strengthen our support in rural areas,” the progressive strategist said.

That approach has worked for Sens. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, John Tester in Montana, and even Joe Manchin in West Virginia, who have tapped into qualities that resonate at home and get them re-elected by voters across party lines.

Fetterman is hoping to connect with people “as human beings,” the strategist said, not just over politics. “In order to persuade voters, you need to have that authenticity.”

Fetterman has attracted media attention in recent weeks for campaigning in the state's hinterlands. 

Here's more on the candidate's working-class bonafides and the all-important authenticity:

Fetterman, pro-union with a rotation of rolled up shirts to match, wants higher wages for workers and likes small dollar donations for his own bid. His campaign’s average contribution is $28, just one dollar higher than the $27 that fueled Sanders’ first presidential run.

He wants more government involvement on things like Medicare for All, the universal health care proposal where even some progressives are divided. He sees climate change as a racial justice issue. He also wants weed to be legal, full stop.

“John,” as aides and allies call him, has long been in favor of those things, they say. They are popular in polls across the country.

“Voters don’t have to be convinced that John’s not like other politicians,” said Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s communications director. “They know as soon as they see him step out of his truck. In 2022, that’s an especially good thing.”

Here and here are posts from last month that feature Fetterman campaigning in rural Pennsylvania.   And here's a post from 2009(!), the early days of this blog, when Fetterman was he mayor of a city called Braddock (greater Pittsburgh) doing innovative things with urban farming.  I would not have recalled this earlier post featuring Fetterman but it came up when I searched his name on the Blog.  Interesting to know what he was doing in his political career more than a decade ago.    

Postscript:  Just caught this screenshot by Fetterman at 7:50 am Pacific time on March 26, 2022, with commentary by a rural political consultant who frequently complains about Democrats lack of investment in attracting rural populations.