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John Fetterman Is Fundraising on GOP Donor Email Lists

The hardline pro-Israel senator has been flirting with the idea of switching parties. Now he’s using Republican campaign infrastructure.

Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, is sending fundraising emails pledging to “stand with America” and “reject the extremes” — using email lists for Republican candidates and committees.

An email over the weekend sent by Fetterman’s campaign came from the address “info@gopsquad.com” and vowed: “I’m always going to reject Socialism and the Anti-American way of life.” Other recent appeals sent from the same address encourage readers to help President Donald Trump pass new voting restrictions, to read an “urgent memo” from House Speaker Mike Johnson on fighting the left, and to back Republican Mike Rogers for Senate in Michigan over Abdul El-Sayed, whom the email compared to a terrorist and a “threat to our way of life.”

Harlan Crow Maxed Out Campaign Donations to John Fetterman

The email from Fetterman’s campaign comes as the senator has moved closer to the Republican caucus, rankling his Democratic colleagues and spurring rumors that he might switch parties. He received the maximum allowed contribution from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, as The Intercept reported in July. But the use of Republican fundraising infrastructure represents a new step in Fetterman’s confounding electoral strategy.

The Fetterman campaign also sent copies of the fundraising email from alternate GOP domains including “unshakeableconservatives.com” and “freedomfaction.net.” It’s possible that Fetterman for PA rented or bought a GOP email list, something campaigns commonly do for targeted outreach, but the campaign’s specific arrangement is unclear. The text retreads major talking points that the Democratic senator delivered in a controversial video appearance at the Republican party’s midterm convention earlier this month, where he railed against “extremes” and promised to “stand with America.” 

Fetterman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former Fetterman staffers, who spoke to The Intercept on condition of anonymity for fear of professional reprisal, condemned their old boss’s pivot and suggested he’d betrayed his previous supporters.

“It’s no surprise that he has to resort to GOP donors to prop up his dismal fundraising numbers.”

“It’s no surprise that he has to resort to GOP donors to prop up his dismal fundraising numbers.”

“After taking contributions from millions of small-dollar donors who wanted a Democratic Senate, John Fetterman turned around and became Donald Trump’s useful idiot,” said one former staffer. “Now, it’s no surprise that he has to resort to GOP donors to prop up his dismal fundraising numbers.” 

With two years left in his first term, Fetterman has made himself the subject of a series of political........

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