Brendan Boyle rules out 2028 Senate run with House Budget Committee chairman announcement

Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) has ruled out running for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat in 2028 to challenge Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA).Boyle made his decision in an announcement on Wednesday, following the Democrats’ “bluenami” win in the 2026 elections, based on the idea that he will be the next chairman of the House Budget Committee as the House moves under Democratic control. The six-term congressman, who just won reelection on Tuesday, serves as the committee’s current ranking member.“After months of consulting many people, including current senators and past committee chairs, it is quite clear that I can have a much bigger impact as House Budget Committee Chairman than as a freshman member of the Senate,” Boyle said in a statement. “Therefore, I will not be running for the Senate.” “I look forward to utilizing my position as Budget Committee Chairman to finally get this nation’s fiscal health back on track, and bring more resources back home to our community,” Boyle added.Boyle has been floated as a possible primary challenger to Fetterman, who has frustrated the Democratic caucus with his maverick tendencies to break rank. Boyle told Semafor in March that he wouldn’t “rule anything out” when it came to a possible 2028 bid for Pennsylvania senator.On Wednesday, he ruled out the option of running for Senate.“For months, many of my supporters have urged me to consider running for US Senate in 2028. I have always said that after the November 2026 election, I would make a decision based on one simple question: where can I have the biggest impact on public policy?” Boyle wrote before declaring that he could have the biggest impact as committee chairman.FETTERMAN’S POWER DISSIPATES, ALONG WITH OTHER MARGIN-RIDERSThe representative from northeast Philadelphia said as chairman he would “fight for economic policies that finally help working Americans.”There have been several other candidates floated as possible primary challengers to Fetterman, including Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and former Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost the 2022 Democratic Senate primary against Fetterman.