# Mark my words; if the US Senate after the election is controlled by the Dems 51:49, John Fetterman will switch parties **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [October 17, 2026, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923 "2026-10-17T21:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/21 "2026-10-18T17:51:37Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Do you care to say why he would be a weak 2028 reelection candidate as a Republican? I’ve seen this claim made here before and am missing the reasoning. Pennsylvania is trending blue these days. I think Fetterman has pissed off a lot of Dems who thought he would be a left wing populist instead of the mixed message guy he is. If he switched to the Republican party, I am not sure he could pull enough swing voters to hold the seat. That said, I didn’t appreciate his popularity among Republicans. I knew he was more popular among Republicans than Democrats currently, but they really like him. If he ran for re-election now, he would probably win. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/22 "2026-10-18T18:33:28Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And bribery is a serious federal & state crime, and a lot of money mysteriously appearing would be investigated- at least by Congress if not the State authorities. Or at least, it would be if Democrats controlled Congress. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/23 "2026-10-18T19:23:08Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > If he ran for re-election now, he would probably win. But would he win the Democratic primary? I suspect not. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/24 "2026-10-18T19:30:08Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > But would he win the Democratic primary? I suspect not. I would bet he would. Of course, that depends on the opponent. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/25 "2026-10-18T20:14:49Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > If he switched to the Republican party, I am not sure he could pull enough swing voters to hold the seat. I think the fear is the mischief he could cause in the next two years. I doubt he’s holding his seat regardless. If he could change the balance of power in the Senate, the Republicans would offer him some plumb positions (although he doesn’t seem to care about committee work these days) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/26 "2026-10-18T20:22:07Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > (although he doesn’t seem to care about committee work these days) Apparently, that is not entirely new. As per [his Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman#Lieutenant_Governor_of_Pennsylvania_(2019%E2%80%932023)), relating to his time as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: > [@](#): > > An [Associated Press](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press "Associated Press") review of Fetterman’s daily schedule during his tenure as lieutenant governor found that he kept a light work schedule and was often absent from official state business.[[66]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman#cite_note-Schedule-66) From his inauguration in January 2019 until May 2022, Fetterman’s official schedule was blank for one-third of workdays.[[66]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman#cite_note-Schedule-66) Additionally, the days that he worked were often short, ranging from four to five hours.[[66]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman#cite_note-Schedule-66) He was often absent from presiding over the [Pennsylvania State Senate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_State_Senate "Pennsylvania State Senate"), an official duty of the lieutenant governor. In 2020, he attended only half of the Senate’s sessions; in 2021, he attended only a third of them.[[66]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fetterman#cite_note-Schedule-66) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/27 "2026-10-18T21:07:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And bribery is a serious federal & state crime, and a lot of money mysteriously appearing would be investigated- at least by Congress if not the State authorities. That is a remarkably naive POV given the widespread graft and corruption surrounding everything and everyone the trump crime family touches. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/28 "2026-10-18T21:34:34Z")
OK, so they wouldn’t bribe him; they’d just offer him gratuities. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/29 "2026-10-18T22:50:11Z")
Re last post, if so, I think they probably would offer the same gratuities regardless of how many Senate seats are controlled by the Democrats early next year. What about Fetterman mostly voting with the Democrats? Well, as a Republican he would differently, at least some of the time. But the main thing is owning the libs, and bringing Fetterman into their tent would do that. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/30 "2026-10-19T01:27:19Z")
I don’t think he would have a prayer of winning a Dem primary. But he has given every indication that he does not like being a senator and has no intention of trying to run again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923/31 "2026-10-19T01:34:23Z")
Fine, offer the guy a seat on the Supreme Court. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mark-my-words-if-the-us-senate-after-the-election-is-controlled-by-the-dems-51-49-john-fetterman-will-switch-parties/1033923.md?page=1)