Jonathan Martin of Politico writes that the scenario of Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman switching parties or becoming an independent to ensure that Republicans retain power in the chamber is “becoming less fantastical by the day.”
A few paragraphs in, Fetterman tells Martin directly that he’s not going to change parties. “I’m a Democrat, and I’m staying one.” Now, we’ve heard politicians break promises before, so perhaps that scenario can’t be ruled out.
But if Fetterman did flip to the GOP, he would be a wild outlier, way more liberal and way more opposed to the Trump administration than any other Republican senator. Fetterman has taken some high-profile deviations from Democratic Party orthodoxy — staunch support of Israel, scathing criticism of Bob Menendez, and declaring that wanting a secure border is not xenophobia. Fetterman is a regular opponent of shutting down the government.
But on most issues, Fetterman is still a Democrat.
Yes, in 2025, Fetterman was “Trump’s top Democratic supporter in the US Senate.” But to do that, Fetterman had to vote with the Trump administration’s position . . . 26 percent of the time. Roughly three-quarters of the time, Fetterman votes against the Trump administration’s position. By contrast, in 2025, all Senate Republicans voted with the Trump administration’s position at least 93 percent of the time. Yes, that includes Maine GOP senator Susan Collins, who is supposedly some terrible RINO squish that conservatives aren’t supposed to support in her showdown against Mr. Nazi Tattoo.
Fetterman holds the traditional Democratic positions on tax increases, raising the minimum wage, labor unions, abortion, gay rights, trans rights, and a pathway to citizenship for DACA immigrants. He voted against the Big Beautiful Bill.
In the end, there’s a lot to like about John Fetterman. It’s great to see him making such a solid recovery from his stroke. He really did help fight the stigma against asking for help with mental health problems. He’s willing to stand up for what he believes in, whether his party likes it or not.
But other than maybe a half dozen high-profile issues, he’s not a Republican. He’s a Democrat. And as much as Republicans would love to have one more member in their ranks, it doesn’t make sense for a guy who has more traditionally Democratic positions than Republican ones to change parties and run for reelection as a Republican.