Democrats are trying to figure out what to do about John Fetterman. One
of them is stepping up
[June 27, 2025]
By MARC LEVY
ENOLA, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania isn't
even up for reelection until 2028, but already a one-time primary foe,
former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, is crisscrossing Pennsylvania and social
media, looking and sounding like he's preparing to challenge Fetterman
again.
At town hall after town hall across Pennsylvania, Democrats and allied
progressive groups aren't hearing from Fetterman in person — or
Republicans who control Washington, for that matter.
But they are hearing from Lamb, a living reminder of the Democrat they
could have elected instead of Fetterman. The former congressman has
emerged as an in-demand town hall headliner, sometimes as a stand-in for
Fetterman — who just might bash Fetterman.
“I thought I was going to play Senator Fetterman,” Lamb joked as he sat
down in front of a central Pennsylvania crowd last Sunday.
Democrats are frustrated with Fetterman
Lamb's reemergence comes at an in-between moment, roughly halfway
through Fetterman's six-year term, and is helping define the struggle
facing Democrats in swing-state Pennsylvania.
There, Democrats figure prominently in their national effort to push
back on President Donald Trump, but also in their struggle to figure out
what to do about Fetterman, who is under fire from rank-and-file
Democrats for being willing to cooperate with Trump.
Frustration with Fetterman has been on display on social media, at the
massive “ No Kings ” rally in Philadelphia and among the Democratic
Party's faithful. The steering committee of the progressive organization
Indivisible PA last month asked Fetterman to resign.
It's quite a turnabout for the hoodies-and-shorts-wearing Fetterman,
elected in 2022 with an everyman persona and irreverent wit, who was
unafraid to challenge convention.
For some progressives, frustration with Fetterman began with his staunch
support for Israel's punishing war against Hamas in Gaza, an issue that
divides Democrats.
It's moved beyond that since Trump took office. Now, some are wondering
why he's — as they see it — kissing up to Trump, why he's chastising
fellow Democrats for their anti-Trump resistance and whether he's even
committed to their causes at all.
Most recently, they question his support for Trump's bombing of Iran.
“It hurts,” said John Abbott, who attended Sunday's event in suburban
Harrisburg.
Speaking at the flagship “No Kings” rally in Philadelphia, Indivisible
co-founder Leah Greenberg name-checked Fetterman.
“We’re looking to the leaders who will fight for us, because even today
there are folks among the Democratic Party who think we should roll over
and play dead,” Greenberg said. “Anyone seen John Fetterman here today?”
The crowd booed.
Why is Conor Lamb crisscrossing Pennsylvania again?
In Pittsburgh, progressives trying to land an in-person town hall with
Fetterman or first-term Republican Sen. David McCormick noticed when the
two senators advertised an event together at a downtown restaurant to
celebrate the release of McCormick's new book.
Progressive groups organized to protest it and — after it got moved to a
private location with a private invite list — went ahead with their own
town hall. They invited Lamb and a local Democratic state representative
instead.
More invitations for Lamb started rolling in.
By his count, he's now attended at least a dozen town halls and party
events, easily clocking more than 2,000 miles to appear in small towns,
small cities and suburbs, often in conservative areas.
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Conor Lamb speaks to the crowd at a town hall-style event organized
by progressive groups at Central Penn College, Sunday, June 22,
2025, in Enola, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)
“Showing up matters and it really does make a difference,” said Dana
Kellerman, a Pittsburgh-based progressive organizer. “Is that going to
matter to John Fetterman? I really don’t know. I don’t know what he’s
thinking. I don’t know if he’s always been this person or if he’s
changed in the last two years.”
Fetterman has brushed off criticism, saying he's a committed Democrat,
insisting he was elected to engage with Republicans and — perhaps
hypocritically — questioning why Democrats would criticize fellow
Democrats.
At times, Fetterman has criticized Trump, questioning the move to “punch
our allies in the mouth" with tariffs or the need for cuts to
social-safety net programs in the GOP's legislation to extend 2017's tax
cuts. Fetterman's office didn't respond to an inquiry about Lamb.
Is Conor Lamb running for Senate?
For his part, Lamb — a former U.S. Marine and federal prosecutor — says
he isn’t running for anything right now, but he'll do whatever he can to
"stop this slide that we're on toward a less democratic country and try
to create one in which there's more opportunity for people."
To some Democrats, he sounds like a candidate.
“That he’s doing these town halls is a good indication that he’ll be
running for something, so it’s a good thing,” said Janet Bargh, who
attended the event in suburban Harrisburg.
Aside from the town halls, he spoke at the Unite for Veterans event on
the National Mall. He has also been active on social media, doing local
radio appearances and appearing on MSNBC, where he recently criticized
the June 14 military parade ordered up by Trump.
Not long ago, it was hard to envision Lamb losing a race, ever.
In 2018, he won a heavily Trump-friendly congressional district in
southwestern Pennsylvania in a special election. It was the center of
the political universe that spring, drawing campaign visits by Trump and
then-presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
Suddenly, Lamb was ascendant. Then he ran for Senate and lost handily —
by more than two-to-one — to Fetterman in 2022’s primary.
People often ask Lamb if he’s going to challenge Fetterman again. Lamb
said he reminds them that Fetterman has three years left in his term and
pivots the conversation to what Democrats need to do to win elections in
2025 and 2026.
Still, Lamb is unafraid to criticize Fetterman publicly. And, he said,
he's a magnet for Democrats to air their unhappiness with Fetterman.
What he hears, over and over, is frustration that Fetterman spends too
much time attacking fellow Democrats and not enough time challenging
Trump.
“And that is, I think, what’s driving the frustration more than any one
particular issue,” Lamb said.
At the town hall, Lamb wasn't afraid to admit he'd lost to Fetterman.
But he turned it into an attack line.
“When I watch the person who beat me give up on every important issue
that he campaigned on ... the more I reasoned that the point of all of
this in the first place is advocacy for what’s right and wrong," Lamb
told the crowd. "And advocacy for not just a particular party to win,
but for the type of country where it matters if, when you stand up, you
tell the truth.”
The crowd cheered.
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