John Fetterman taunts Pennsylvania Working Families Party over primary challenge
WASHINGTON, DC: Senator John Fetterman dismissed a primary challenge from the Pennsylvania Working Families Party (WFP), a progressive grassroots political party, with a chuckle.
He said to Fox News in an interview that he would actually welcome them to run a candidate, because he thinks whoever they put up would make him appear as the "reasonable guy" who collaborates with both sides.
This Saturday, 2M moms, dads, and kids lose benefits to feed themselves.
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) October 30, 2025
I won’t have an answer for those SNAP recipients in PA.
This is the collective failure and shame of Congress—and to them, I am truly sorry.
End this chaos.
Open our government.
The decision of the WFP to draft a challenger against Fetterman came after his vote to reopen the federal government, which the party interpreted as a "sellout" to working-class Pennsylvanians.
Why and how did the Working Families Party challenge John Fetterman?
On November 18, Pennsylvania WFP went public with its plans to start recruiting candidates by launching a portal to find and train "working-class leaders" for a possible 2028 primary.
Shoshanna Israel, the group's Mid-Atlantic political director, severely criticized Fetterman's decision to go across party lines, stating that he "sold out" the working Pennsylvanians and did not pick up the fight for the progressive priorities.
We're primarying John Fetterman.
— PA Working Families 🐺 (@PAWorkFamilies) November 18, 2025
Last week, Fetterman once again sold out working Pennsylvanians. He was the deciding vote for a Republican budget bill that will strip healthcare from over 400,000 Pennsylvanians.
We deserve real working class leadership in the U.S. Senate. pic.twitter.com/Wer1MDacWI
It's not the first time WFP has challenged Fetterman. During the 2022 Democratic primary, the party supported Malcolm Kenyatta and raised similar issues.
The WFP says it is intervening due to increased frustration with Fetterman's cross-party votes, among which his backing of a resolution to end the government shutdown is included.
The group announced that it will be more than a mere challenger, as it will also furnish the continuous presence, ie, fundraising and recruiting of volunteers, to revolutionize Senate leadership.
John Fetterman says WFP will make him look like the 'reasonable guy'
John Fetterman replied to the WFP primary challenge with a smile on Fox News' 'The Story'.
“Ooh, ooh, oh, I hope, promise. I hope so,” Fetterman joked. “Because I guarantee whoever they put up, they’re going to make me look like the reasonable guy that’s going to work with both sides together and find a way for Pennsylvania.”
He explained that his breaking vote was his own best move, saying that it was not a party-line move but a practical one: the goal was to ensure that SNAP food aid continued, the military and the Capitol Police were paid, and essential workers were supported.
Fetterman said that he considered it "a mistake" to close down the government and that he would rather choose to work on solutions than adhere to ideological purity.
When Fetterman won his Senate seat in 2022, he was running as a committed "progressive," but his subsequent changes have exasperated a great number of Democrats.
He has conflicted with factions of his own party through his opinions on foreign policy, immigration, and the shutdown issues, as well as his friendlier attitude toward President Donald Trump.
