The radical Left drove Joe Manchin out of the Democrat Party and straight into retirement.
Now John Fetterman just did something that has Democrats convinced they're watching history repeat itself.
The document he filed with the federal government could have tipped his hand about his future.
Fetterman and McCormick Form Rare Bipartisan PAC
John Fetterman and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick quietly filed a joint fundraising committee with the Federal Election Commission called Common Ground PA.
Four PACs are listed as participants: Fetterman's ampaign committee, his leadership PAC Every Vote PAC, McCormick's campaign committee Friends of Dave McCormick, and McCormick's leadership PAC Pennsylvania Honor.
A nonpartisan watchdog at OpenSecrets said he'd never seen anything like it.
"I'm not gonna say it's never happened," Brendan Glavin told CBS Pittsburgh, "but certainly, I was definitely very surprised to see that."
He should be surprised. Joint fundraising committees between senators from opposite parties are so rare they barely register in FEC history. This isn't two politicians agreeing to co-sponsor a highway bill. This is Fetterman tying his financial future to a Republican senator while his own party scrambles for every Senate seat it can find heading into 2026.
Democrats didn't take it quietly. Former Rep. Conor Lamb blasted the move as "another betrayal from Fetterman." Rep. Chris Deluzio asked on X, "Helping the Republicans raise money to spend against Democrats is bad, right?" Pennsylvania Democratic strategist JJ Abbott accused Fetterman of "betraying his own donors."
McCormick's team called it donor-driven. "This group of donors value the collaboration exhibited by Senators McCormick and Fetterman for Pennsylvania and want to support both of them," spokesman Mike DeVanney said.
Trump Tried to Flip Fetterman Republican and Now His Party Is Panicking
The fundraising committee didn't come out of nowhere. Trump and the Pennsylvania GOP have spent two years pulling Fetterman toward them – and he has moved.
Fetterman voted with Republicans 26 percent of the time in 2025 – the highest rate of any Senate Democrat. When the Iran war powers resolution came to a vote, Fetterman was the only Democrat in the chamber to vote no – siding with 52 Republicans while his entire caucus went the other direction.
His was the decisive vote that moved Trump's DHS nominee Markwayne Mullin out of committee. During the government shutdown standoff, while Democrats held the line, Fetterman voted with Republicans over a dozen times.
Trump noticed. He went on Logan Paul's podcast and called Fetterman his "favorite Democrat." That is not an offhand compliment from a president who does not give them. That is a recruitment pitch broadcast to millions of listeners.
Fetterman didn't flinch. He defended Trump voters in language that made Democrat operatives reach for their phones.
"Some Democrats now are actually running on the 'f— Trump' – I mean literally, that's in some of their commercials," Fetterman said. "People that I know and I love that voted for him – they are not fascists. These are good people."
Republicans in Pennsylvania moved from watching to recruiting. Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Greg Rothman told The Center Square that backing Fetterman's 2028 Senate run wasn't off the table – if he changed parties.
Turning Point Action COO Tyler Bowyer watched the Common Ground PA filing drop and posted on X: "Republican +1 coming in soon."
McCormick called Fetterman "one of my closest working partners" in a May fundraising email – a description no Republican senator uses for a Democrat he expects to stay a Democrat.
A Quinnipiac poll captured where things stood: just 22 percent of Pennsylvania Democrats approve of Fetterman's job performance. Among Pennsylvania Republicans, that number sits at 73 percent.
What a Fetterman Party Switch Would Mean for Senate Control in 2026
Senate history says one senator can flip the entire chamber. Jim Jeffords of Vermont proved it in 2001 – he left the Republican Party, started caucusing with Democrats, and control of the Senate changed hands overnight.
Former Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema went independent, lost both parties in the process, and Arizona Democrats celebrated when she declined to run again. Then Manchin: registered as an independent, skipped a primary he couldn't win, and Republicans picked up his West Virginia seat without a fight.
Every one of those situations ended badly for the party the senator left.
Fetterman insists he's staying put. In a Washington Post op-ed, he wrote that he'd be "a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats." But Fetterman filing joint fundraising papers with a GOP senator is something none of those others did before they walked.
Kalshi prediction markets now give Fetterman a 45 percent chance of leaving the Democrat Party before 2028 – the year he is up for reelection. That number has climbed steadily as his break with Democrats has deepened.
Democrats need to flip four Republican Senate seats in 2026 to take the majority. If Fetterman flips, that math doesn't work.
Common Ground PA filed with the FEC on Monday. Democrats spent the rest of the week calling it a betrayal. Fetterman spent it not responding to comment requests.
That tells you everything.
Sources:
- "Pennsylvania Sens. John Fetterman, Dave McCormick launch joint fundraising committee," The Hill, July 9, 2026.
- "Fetterman and McCormick campaigns team up for joint fundraising committee," The Center Square, July 9, 2026.
- "Democrat John Fetterman launches cross-aisle fundraising committee with Republican Dave McCormick," The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 9, 2026.
- "Fetterman and McCormick form bipartisan joint fundraising committee," CBS Pittsburgh, July 9, 2026.
- "Fetterman breaks with party, casts key vote to advance DHS nominee," Fox29, March 20, 2026.
- "Alert: Dem Sen. Fetterman and GOP Sen. McCormick Launch Joint Fundraising Project," The Western Journal, July 10, 2026.
- "Fetterman defends his voting record despite pushback from Democrats," CBS News, November 2025.