Senator John Fetterman noted the “undeniable” Donald Trump effect in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, and his ability “to create a strong connection with the people of Pennsylvania” in 2016, which helped him win the presidency.
While he believes Kamala Harris will win, he warned that it won’t be easy.
In an interview with Greta Van Susteren on Newsmax on Wednesday, Fetterman described Pennsylvania’s voting history, and the impact Pennsylvania voters could have on the election.
Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes, has historically been one of the toss-up states, but voted Democrat for six elections prior to 2016, according to political projection site 270toWin.
President Biden won Pennsylvania by 1.2 percent in 2020 according to the site, and Fetterman noted that he believes the race this time around will be close but said that winning counties like Erie and Bucks are what he believes will cement either candidate the presidency.
Fetterman said, “I fundamentally believe that whoever can carry their argument and win Erie will win Pennsylvania and I do think who wins Pennsylvania will be the next president on that, and I fundamentally do believe that Governor Walz will be the kind of guy that will resonate there much more than my colleague in the Senate, Senator Vance.”
A Senator since 2023, Fetterman, a Democrat, previously served as the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, from 2006 to 2019, as well as the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 2019 to 2023.
Prior to his career in politics, Fetterman worked in insurance and later for AmeriCorps.
As a politician, he gained prominence for his work in prison reform, efforts to legalize cannabis in Pennsylvania, and his stance as “the most pro-immigration member of the Senate,” as reported by Politico.
In his election to the Senate in 2022, he beat Republican candidate Mehmet Oz, better known as Dr. Oz, a TV personality and doctor.
Voter registration in Pennsylvania is approximately 45 percent Democrat, 40 percent Republican, and 15 percent who identify as unaffiliated voters as of May according to the local nonprofit Spotlight PA.
On how Trump won in 2016, Fetterman said, “He created margins in those small rural counties that Romney wasn’t able to create in 2012 as well, in the 60s, maybe touching closer to 70. But, Trump did that into the 80s and that’s allowed him to scale, and he won by only about 45,000 votes.”
When asked if there is one driving issue for Pennsylvanians that is inspiring them to head to the polls, whether it be immigration, inflation, or healthcare, Fetterman said that he believes it is simply down to whether voters want another Trump presidency after the previous four years.
Fetterman said, “It is going to be close, but at the end of the day, I think the Harris-Walz message is going to prevail and that’s what Pennsylvania is looking for and that’s why I fundamentally believe Pennsylvania will pick the president, and that’s why Harris is going to be our next president.”
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