(The Epoch Times)—Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has said he will remain a Democrat and provide the majority-making vote if his party wins the Senate in November, hours after delivering a video address at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas.
Fetterman’s office issued a statement in response to renewed questions about his party affiliation in the video’s aftermath.
“My remarks introduced Dave McCormick as a great American and friend,” Fetterman said in the statement provided to The Epoch Times on Sept. 10.
“We are in different parties, but we are both Team PA. We have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars back to Pennsylvania, fought for improved transportation and affordable housing, and the Steel Way of Life,” he continued.
“I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party—and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.”
It’s at least the fifth time in two years that Fetterman has publicly ruled out leaving the party.
In the video, recorded in front of a U.S. Steel mill in the Monongahela Valley, Fetterman introduced Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) to the convention crowd at the American Airlines Center on Sept. 9.
“Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a commonsense Democrat,” Fetterman said. “I’m always gonna stand with America. I’m always gonna reject the extremes of socialism and that anti-American way of life.”
He praised McCormick and President Donald Trump over steel.
“Right back over my shoulder, that’s the iconic U.S. Steel mill, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that we will work together, and will work with President Trump, to fight and defend—the Steel Way of Life right here in the Steel Valley,” Fetterman said.
“I have this opportunity to introduce this great American, a great senator, and, yes, he is in a different party, but I’m proud to count him as my great friend.”
Many Democrats—including elected Democrats from his home state—criticized the appearance.
Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) said on Thursday morning that the video had cost Fetterman her support.
“I know, and I like John Fetterman, but he lost me last night with that stunt,” Dean said in a C-SPAN appearance on Thursday morning. “He, like me, should be talking about how do we make life more affordable for Americans.
“What it’s time for him to do is represent Pennsylvania the way he ran, with the values that he ran on. … Sadly, the work that he is doing now as senator does not reflect those same values.”
Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) wrote in a post on X shortly after the video aired that he had used a label for Fetterman a year ago that the appearance confirmed.
“A year ago I labeled John Fetterman ‘Trump’s favorite Democrat,’” Boyle wrote. “Tonight, he yet again proves why.”
McCormick thanked Fetterman in a post on X the same night.
“Thank you to my friend [John Fetterman],” McCormick wrote. “We were both sent to Washington to fight for what’s best for PA. Standing up for steel was never going to be a partisan thing. Grateful for the kind words tonight.”
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was removed from office in 2009 and pardoned by Trump last year, also thanked Fetterman in a post on X, saying the appearance showed which party now speaks for workers.
“As the son of a steel worker & former Democratic Governor, I want to thank Democratic Senator John Fetterman for doing a cameo thanking President Trump for saving the steel industry,” Blagojevich wrote. “Trump’s Republican Party is the party helping working people improve their lives.”
Fetterman first said he would not switch parties in January 2025, after he was the only Democrat to vote to advance Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defense secretary.
He said it again in September 2025 in a Fox News interview, describing himself as an independent voice within the party.
In May, he said he would be a “terrible Republican” in a lengthy op-ed in The Washington Post.
In July, he told NBC News that a change to the Democratic platform on Israel would be his breaking point.
“If they put that in our platform—no aid for Israel—and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me,” Fetterman said at the time. “Democrats, we always should support Israel. That’s our special ally.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters at the Capitol on July 21 that he and other Republicans had spoken with Fetterman about joining their conference.
“I have had conversations with him in the past, as have many of my colleagues, about the challenges he faces in his caucus,” Thune said.
“And there are many of us who I think would welcome the opportunity to have him join the Republican conference, but ultimately that’s a decision that’s up to him.”
Democrats need to flip four seats on Nov. 3 to take the Senate majority, which would leave Fetterman’s vote as the 51st in a chamber the party would control by a single seat. He is not on the ballot until 2028, and he has said he has not decided whether he will run again or run as a Democrat.
