Check out the website: https://lenspoliticalnotes.com Look at the recent Political Notes and Len’s Letters on the website.
Vulnerable Incumbents: Political Note #387 Mark Kelly Arizona US Senate, Political Note #379 Raphael Warnock Georgia US Senate, Political Note #365 Catherine Cortez Masto US Senate Nevada, Political Note #359 Maggie Hassan US Senate New Hampshire,
Challengers: Political Note #400 Val Demings Florida US Senate, Political Note #420 Thomas McDermott, Jr. Indiana US Senate, Political Note #408 Charles Booker Kentucky US Senate, Political Note #433 John Fetterman Open Republican Pennsylvania Senate
Independent challenger: Political Note #427 Evan McMullin Utah US Senate
From the past: Len’s Letter #24 The Lily in the Pond March 16, 2020
December 19th, 2021 Political Note #433 John Fetterman Pennsylvania US Senate
2022 General Election
John Fetterman https://johnfetterman.com is Pennsylvania’s Lt. Governor. He is heavily tattooed, 6’9”, wears a biker-type beard, and used to weigh over 400 pounds (He is below 300 pounds now). Mostly, he’s for the underdog and a progressive, though he does favor fracking. He is the child of two teenagers in a story that went right. His dad worked his way through college, sold insurance, and created an insurance business.
John Fetterman planned to enter his father’s business until a college friend died in an automobile accident on his way to get him. He stayed at Albright College, his father’s alma mater, after the accident. He continued to play football, but the loss of his friend changed his goal. He would create a better world. He joined Big Brothers/Big Sisters and followed one child, the son of a single mother who lost her husband to AIDS and would eventually succumb herself. John Fetterman promised the mom to look out for her son and to make sure he graduated from college. He stayed with that responsibility and eventually attended the young man’s graduation from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, PA.
John Fetterman went to work for AmeriCorps after college and again after getting a Harvard Kennedy School Master’s in Public Policy. After college, he worked in Pittsburgh’s Hill District setting up a computer lab and teaching in a GED program. After graduating from the Kennedy School, he worked for AmericaCorps in Braddock, PA east of Pittsburgh. Among other projects he created a GED program in this low income, two-thirds African American community.
In 2005, encouraged by the teenagers he worked with, John Fetterman ran for mayor. He won by a single vote and was mayor for 13 years. He ran the city imaginatively leading to a kind of community renaissance. His campaign website touts the town’s community center, urban gardens, and free store which is run by John Fetterman’s wife. As mayor, he performed one of the first same sex marriages in Pennsylvania. He also opposed construction of a superhighway through Braddock, the very kind of community destruction the Roads and Bridges and Airport (Infrastructure) law has funds to rectify.
In 2016, John Fetterman ran for the US Senate. He came in third in the Democratic primary with just under 20% of the vote. Having earned some statewide voter recognition, he ran for Lt. Governor in 2018. He won the primary with less than 40% of the vote, 14 points ahead of the second-place candidate and 20 points ahead of the incumbent. In Pennsylvania t-e Governor and Lt. Governor, after having been nominated separately, run together. Tom Wolf, with a new Lt. Governor candidate on his team, won the election with nearly 60% of the vote.
John Fetterman has had to outline his political views as he became a state-wide figure. Prison reform has been a central issue for him. He proposed an emphasis on rehabilitation, clemency for model prisoners, and abolishing capital punishment. Regarding the environment, he has sought to balance efforts to move away from fossil fuels with the need to avoid job losses among those in the industry. He has proposed legalization of marijuana (arguing that if South Dakota voters could support that kind of change on a ballot, Pennsylvania certainly could legalize it.). He has argued for raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, providing Medicare for all, and creating a wealth tax. He would support ending the filibuster in the US Senate so that it is possible to achieve these goals and more.
One incident while he was mayor has been fodder for Republicans. With a gun, John Fetterman chased down what turned out to be an unarmed Black kid after hearing what sounded like gun shots. He still insists the kid was dangerous and reminds critics that he is in prison today.
He has five Democratic primary opponents – Congressman Conor Lamb who is a former JAG prosecuting attorney, and three others. The odds are with John Fetterman. There are no primary polls, but general election polls show John Fetterman leading or tied with Republican opponents. The finances are telling. At the end of the third quarter of 2021, he reported $9.2 million and Conor Lamb reported $2.6 million in donations. Lamb led the other three candidates who had raised less.
The Republicans have six candidates. The most successful has raised one third of what John Fetterman has raised and the newest is wealthy enough to self-fund a large portion of the campaign, even in expensive Pennsylvania. John Fetterman will have money for his campaign. What he’s got now is not enough to win a primary and a general election in so populous a state as Pennsylvania. Donate early if you want to help him dominate the general election as well as the primary. You can donate at https://johnfetterman.com. The primary is not until May 17, 2022. We should not wait.
The Cook Report projects has downgraded the likelihood of winning for the most vulnerable Incumbent Democrats. These are people we have to defend.
Vulnerable Incumbent Senators to support
Arizona Mark Kelly (Toss up) https://markkelly.com
Georgia Raphael Warnock (Toss up) https://warnockforgeorgia.com
Nevada Catherine Cortez Masto (Toss up) https://catherinecortezmasto.com
New Hampshire Maggie Hassan (Lean D) https://maggiehassan.com
Challengers to support
Florida Congresswoman Val Demings https://valdemings.com is targeting Marco Rubio (Lean R)
Indiana Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr https://www.gomcdermott.com is less probable than the others, but could surprise (Solid R according to Cook)
Iowa Ex Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer https://abbyfinkenauer.com is targeting Chuck Grassley, seeking his 8th term (Solid R according to Cook)
Kentucky 2020 Senate Candidate Charles Booker https://charlesbooker.org is targeting Rand Paul (Solid R according to Cook)
North Carolina Former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court Cherie Beasley https://cheribeasley.com is running for the US Senate to fill the open created because Richard Burr is retiring.
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan https://timforoh.com is targeting the open seat created because Rob Portman is retiring (Lean R)
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman https://johnfetterman.com is targeting the open seat created because Pat Toomey is retiring (Toss up)
Independent Challenger to Support
Utah Ex CIA Officer Evan McMullin https://evanmcmullin.com is targeting Republican Senator Mike Lee (Solid R according to Cook)
More challengers to come
Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson is a target (Toss Up) Nine Democrats are currently in the race; a few are still thinking about running.
Missouri Republican Roy Blunt is retiring. (Solid R according to Cook) All three Democratic candidates have a shot if Missouri Republicans nominate the wrong candidate.
Alabama Republican Richard Shelby is retiring. (Solid R) Is there a Democrat in Alabama who can create a Doug Jones-like surprise if the Republicans nominate the most offensive candidate?
Organizations to support
The Democratic National Committee (DNC). https://democrats.org
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) https://www.dscc.org
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) https://dccc.org
The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) https://democraticgovernors.org
The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) https://dems.ag
The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) https://demsofstate.org
The Democratic (State) Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) https://dlcc.org
Fair Fight https://fairfight.com Stacey Abrams organization to support fair elections
National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NRDC) https://democraticredistricting.com Led by Eric Holder
The Lincoln Project https://lincolnproject.us. Ex Republicans with tough messaging on behalf of Democrats
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Support John Fetterman. Pennsylvania needs the roads and bridges from the Infrastructure law as well as the support that is in the Climate, Kids, and Elderly (Reconciliation) Bill.
