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In 2016, when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was mixing cocktails at a bar in Union Square, John Fetterman, then the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, was one of the original Bernie Bros.
During his first unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate, Fetterman was a lonely voice supporting Bernie Sanders’ upstart primary challenge against Hillary Clinton. In his endorsement video, Fetterman said he and Sanders “stand together as the most progressive candidates in our respective races.”
A decade later, Fetterman may not have changed, but his political party cannot say the same.
Today, Fetterman is a Democratic U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. Once again, he is on a political island for a very different reason. Despite voting 91% of the time with his party, the brash, outspoken former progressive darling enjoys higher marks among Republican voters (73%) than Democrats (22%) in his own state.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to a reporter as he arrives in the U.S. Capitol for a vote Dec. 3, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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He has become a political outcast. Fellow members of the Pennsylvania delegation are musing about a primary challenge in 2028. Speculation is running high about Fetterman switching parties, an idea he has poured cold water on.
John Fetterman has said his “values have not changed.” But his party’s values have.
Ocasio-Cortez is the talk of the town for a different reason. She is endorsing left-wing candidates across the country. She and Sanders have barnstormed the nation on their so-called Fighting Oligarchy tour, which, according to media reports, relies on private jets and chauffeured limousines to get around. Her name is rising fast on lists of potential 2028 presidential candidates.
How did the script flip so fast in 10 years?
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For clues, look to Fetterman’s so-called “sins.”
He has stressed the need for a secure southern border. He took his party’s reflexive anti-Trump positioning to task, noting, “The president could come out for ice cream and lazy Sundays, and my party would suddenly hate them.”
Fetterman has not only been outspoken in his support for Israel — especially since the terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023 — but has gone a step further and called out the “rot in my party standing with pro-Hamas people.”
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The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has a different perspective. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, someone who has been working hard to raise his national profile, has encouraged the party to rethink its “reflexive and unconditional support for Israeli governments.”
Sanders has not only stood by his support of Graham Platner, the scandal-plagued and embattled Maine Senate candidate, but also rushed to his defense.
Fetterman has taken a different approach, calling it “crazy” that “the guy who’s going to win the primary in Maine … has a Nazi tattoo on his chest, and that’s no problem for a lot of voters.”
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Platner, for his part, has returned the favor, describing Fetterman as the “bane” of his existence.
Therein lies Fetterman’s challenge. He has said his “values have not changed.” But his party’s values have.
Take a quick look at some of their policy ideas.
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Last decade’s “Fight for $15” on the minimum wage has morphed into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s quest for “$30 by 2030.”
Barack Obama’s “rock solid” commitment to the people of Israel in 2012 has given way to Sanders accusing Israel of “committing genocide in Gaza.”
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Obama’s praise of the fracking revolution and natural gas yielded to Ocasio-Cortez’s “Green New Deal” and the push to eliminate fossil fuels.
And John Fetterman, one of the original Sanders backers when almost everyone else in his party was with Clinton, has become an outright pariah.
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These days, Democratic primary voters are much more aligned with Ocasio-Cortez’s “Tax the Rich” philosophy than Fetterman’s hoodies and shorts. As the party’s center has moved leftward, common sense and practicality are nowhere to be found.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM COLIN REED
Colin Reed is a Republican strategist, former campaign manager for Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown and co-founder of South and Hill Strategies.
Buffy Block
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