Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said on Monday that he will run for the seat in the U.S. Senate, which is being vacated by Republican Pat Toomey, who is retiring.
In a video released on Monday announcing his campaign, Fetterman said, “I am not going to fight for a part of Pennsylvania, not for a party in Pennsylvania, but for one in Pennsylvania.”
“I am running for the United States Senate for the same reason that I ran for vice governor in 2018 and mayor of Braddock 16 years ago, because I believe in a set of fundamental truths,” added Fetterman in a statement accompanying the video.
The race to replace Toomey, who announced in October that he was retiring, is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country and will be one of the cornerstones of Democratic efforts to build his small majority in the House in 2022.
Fetterman, who was widely expected to run for the seat, has been the Democratic vice governor of the state since 2019. Fetterman was elected in 2005 as mayor of Braddock, his hometown in western Pennsylvania, in 2005, and worked to revitalize before running. to the Senate in 2016. He lost the primaries to Democratic Party favorite candidate Katie McGinty, who ended up losing the general election.
Fetterman, 51, attracted national attention for his unorthodox style and frequent public fights with Republicans, especially on Twitter.
He made headlines last month for challenging a Republican-backed law banning his marijuana legalization and LGBTQ rights flags, which he hung on his office balcony overlooking the steps of the state capitol.
The tattooed Democrat, who is six feet tall, was nicknamed “the god of American taste” by GQ last year, although he claims to be the owner just a suit.
