Rep. Madeleine Dean said Tuesday, Nov. 10, that she is considering a 2028 challenge to fellow Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman. Her comments add another potential candidate to the Democrats weighing campaigns against the incumbent, who has not publicly announced whether he will seek another term.
Speaking with Politico, Dean expressed disappointment with Fetterman’s work in the Senate and his voting record. She also said she had concerns about his family and health. Dean offered no schedule for deciding whether to enter the race, saying a conversation with her family would need to come before any decision on a campaign.
A contest between Dean and Fetterman would bring them together as opponents again, following a brief overlap in Pennsylvania’s 2018 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor. Dean initially sought that nomination on then-Gov. Tom Wolf’s ticket, but left the race against Fetterman to pursue a seat in Congress instead.
Dean’s remarks followed the formal entry of Ahmed Moor into the Senate race a day earlier. Moor, a Palestinian American writer and businessperson based in Philadelphia, became the first Democrat to launch a 2028 campaign against Fetterman. He belongs to the Democratic Socialists of America and is running on ending the Iran war while broadening access to health care, child care and affordable housing.
Another Pennsylvania Democrat in the House, Rep. Chris Deluzio, has also indicated interest in the Senate seat. In a separate interview with Politico, Deluzio said he was giving a possible campaign “serious thought.” Neither his comments nor Dean’s amounted to a formal campaign launch.
Fetterman has drawn increasing criticism from within his party over his support for the Iran war and his strong backing of Israel. His decisions to depart from fellow Democrats on important votes have also contributed to criticism of his Senate record.
In September, Fetterman faced further criticism after participating by video in the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. During that appearance, he introduced Pennsylvania’s Republican senator, Dave McCormick, and described him as a “great friend.”
Fetterman has repeatedly maintained that he intends to stay in the Democratic Party despite speculation about his political future. At the Texas Tribune Festival in September, he said: “I’ve said I have no path as a Republican. That’s a fact.” His plans for the 2028 election remain publicly unannounced.
