Fetterman 2028 primary threat looms as Democrat Chris Deluzio says he ‘might’ run

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) faces a possible primary challenge following backlash from published reports that he skipped constituent meetings with paralyzed veterans to appear on television.Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), an Iraq War veteran, voting rights attorney, and union organizer, says he’s weighing a run against Fetterman in the 2028 Democratic primary after hearing support for the idea at Monday’s Labor Day Parade in Pittsburgh.“I might, I haven’t decided that,” Deluzio said. “And to be really blunt, I’m doing everything I can right now to help Democrats in Pennsylvania flip congressional seats to give [Gov.] Josh Shapiro a governing majority in the state Senate and grow the majority in the state House.” Deluzio is currently on the campaign trail for a third term as Pennsylvania’s representative for the 17th Congressional District, facing Republican candidate Tony Guy, the Beaver County sheriff.“I’m focused on doing what we can do right now to win,” Deluzio said, adding, “I’ll deal with 2028 when we get past” the midterm elections. The Pennsylvania congressman has been critical of Fetterman, writing on X, “He is not up for the high office he was elected to — and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028.”Deluzio recently said Fetterman “has no sense of duty” after a Sept. 3 Wall Street Journal article alleged that the Pennsylvania senator skipped a meeting with veterans to make a Fox News appearance.Fetterman has since blasted the Wall Street Journal report as a “hit piece.”“Per usual — lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous,” Fetterman told CNN. He added that “no matter how many smears or stories, I’m proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania.”Following the Wall Street Journal report, a new account, @FettermanStaff, sprang up on X, threatening to publicize unflattering material about the first-term senator, including screenshots of his internal communications.Democrats inside and outside of Pennsylvania have criticized Fetterman’s stances and voting, as the first-term senator has sided with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party on multiple issues. Notably, Fetterman has voted against every Senate war powers resolution introduced in the upper chamber.Last year, Fetterman voted in line with Trump’s agenda 28% of the time, the most of any Senate Democrat, according to data from VoteHub. The senator previously pledged that he would “never” leave the Democratic Party after being pressed over whether he might flee should it capture a narrow majority in the Senate in November’s elections.THE 10 SENATE SEATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2026While the senator is not up for reelection in this midterm cycle, Deluzio said “Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028.”The Washington Examiner reached out to both Deluzio’s and Fetterman’s offices for comment.