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A sitting Democratic senator lent his voice to the Republican Party’s big night, and the political world took notice.
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared in an unexpected prerecorded video at the GOP’s first-ever midterm convention Wednesday night to introduce Republican Sen. Dave McCormick and pledge cooperation with President Donald Trump on protecting the steel industry, according to Axios. The roughly one-minute message ran during the event in Dallas.
Fetterman used the clip to draw a line between himself and the left flank of his party while affirming he had not left it. (RELATED: Editor Daily Rundown: GOP’s First-Ever Midterm Convention Opens Wednesday In Dallas)
“Yes, I’m a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I’m a common-sense Democrat,” Fetterman said in the video. “I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and the anti-American way of life.”
Standing before Western Pennsylvania’s Mon Valley Works steel mill, Fetterman vowed to join with Trump to defend the steel industry in the region.
McCormick responded warmly to the video as he took the stage. “How great is John Fetterman?” the Republican senator said, praising his colleague for his “friendship” and “courage,” according to CBS News.
The praise centered on the Nippon Steel investment in U.S. Steel, a deal both Pennsylvania senators came to support, according to NBC News.
Fetterman has drifted from his party for months and now ranks as Trump’s closest Democratic ally in Congress, CNN reported. He skipped his own party’s 2024 convention and has grown deeply unpopular among Democrats. Fetterman and McCormick even started a joint fundraising committee together, an arrangement that drew sharp criticism from the left, according to NBC News.
Fetterman made no announcement about switching parties, though Politico reported in May that Republicans were working hard to woo him. The freshman senator holds an approval rating of almost 80% among Pennsylvania Republicans, but is badly underwater with Democrats and would be highly vulnerable to a 2028 primary challenge.
