Working Families Party has launched PrimaryFetterman.com to coordinate a primary challenge to Sen. John Fetterman, who isn’t up for re-election until 2028. The site offers opposition research, volunteer sign-ups and a donation-refund request tool the party will promote with digital ads. The party's November outreach generated more than 425 sign-ups from prospective candidates, volunteers and donors. Progressives cite Fetterman's recent departures from party positions on the government shutdown and foreign policy as key reasons for mounting a challenge.
Progressives Launch PrimaryFetterman.com to Coordinate 2028 Challenge Against Sen. John Fetterman
The Working Families Party has launched an effort to try to oust Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images)(Kevin Dietsch)
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is not up for re-election until 2028, but progressive allies who once backed his 2022 campaign are already organizing a primary effort to unseat him.
On Friday, the Working Families Party unveiled PrimaryFetterman.com, a new website the group says will serve as the central hub for its campaign to challenge the senator. The site includes pages with opposition research, volunteer sign-up forms and a tool that helps donors request refunds from Fetterman’s campaign — a feature the party plans to promote using digital advertising.
Organizing Momentum
The website follows a broader initiative the Working Families Party launched in November. That outreach, the group says, produced more than 425 sign-ups from people interested in running against Fetterman, volunteers willing to work on a primary effort, or donors prepared to finance a challenger.
Why Progressives Are Mobilizing
Progressive activists point to a string of policy departures by Fetterman — including votes and public stances tied to the recent government shutdown and key foreign policy measures — that have put him at odds with many in his party. Though Fetterman largely continues to vote with Democrats, those breaks have led to defections among longtime staff and supporters, and several Pennsylvania Democrats across the ideological spectrum are viewed as potential 2028 contenders.
Nick Gavio, the Working Families Party's Mid-Atlantic communications director and a former Fetterman staffer, criticized the senator sharply: 'While Sen. John Fetterman is supporting Trump’s use of American tax dollars to ‘run’ Venezuela or buy Greenland, 500,000 Pennsylvanians are about to see their health care premiums rise because of the Republican budget bill he supported. People across Pennsylvania did not put time, money and energy into supporting his campaign just to elect a Democrat who votes against our interests time and time again. We need new leadership.'
Fetterman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com.
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