Rep. Summer Lee’s (D-PA) House allies support whatever she wants to do in 2028. If that includes a primary challenge to Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), all the better.
Lee sparked speculation that she could be seeking higher aspirations last week after she posted that “2028 can’t come fast enough for PA.”
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When asked by the Washington Examiner what she meant, the “Squad” Democrat denied her post had any “innuendo” and that her post was “literally, the least ambiguous post ever.”
“Literally means that Pennsylvanians, especially Pennsylvania Democrats, cannot wait until 2028,” Lee said. “Super straightforward, super straightforward.”
But Lee’s allies in the House expressed excitement about the prospect of her pursuing a 2028 primary bid against Fetterman, with Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) saying, “I’ll draft her.”
“I talk to her about it all the time,” Pressley told the Washington Examiner. “She’d be phenomenal, but I hate to lose her in the House.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) similarly said she would “support Summer for anything; Summer for president.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) said “absolutely” when asked if Lee should mount a bid, later saying she would “love to support” her fellow House member.
Lee, a progressive Democrat, has been in her House seat since 2023. She was first elected to public office in 2018 when she was drafted to run by a local Democratic Socialists of America chapter for a state House seat.
DSA has seen significant momentum in the 2026 midterm elections, with the help of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Three Mamdani-backed candidates won their House primary races in New York City last week, including two socialists and one former DSA member. The victories saw the ousting of two incumbent Democrats, and the preferred successor of one retiring member lost as well.
Tlaib, a member of the DSA, said voters have a “hunger for urgency to transform our country,” and that there is an appetite for “not just somebody that will just, you know, show up to various events, but actually, like, push and move, with an eagerness to actually change people’s lives for the better.”
But while Tlaib was eager to express her support for a possible 2028 Senate bid from Lee, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a high-profile socialist who herself is considered a possible 2028 challenger to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), told the Washington Examiner she doesn’t “put carts before the horse” and that she would take a look at Lee’s decision when the time came.
“I think that Summer Lee is an incredible member of Congress, and everyone makes decisions on their life, on their own terms, but I am very proud to call her a friend, and I think she is a remarkable member,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Fetterman, who once described himself as a progressive Democrat, renounced the label in 2023, saying he “would just call myself a Democrat.”
More recently, as the Pennsylvania senator has been under increased scrutiny from his own party over his record and support for Israel, he shot down rumors that he could leave the party to become a Republican.
Fetterman accused the Democratic Party of “catering to the fringe and agitated parts of our base” in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, but said he would make a “terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats.”
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But while Fetterman plans to stay within the party, not all members support him. Tlaib said Fetterman is “shameful” and that he should resign and step down.
“Fetterman doesn’t care about Pennsylvanians, he really doesn’t,” Tlaib told the Washington Examiner. “I think that many of the citizens feel shafted. They really do. I think I remember writing postcards for him and thinking that he was going to support working-class people, that he was going to stand with us to fight against fascism, and instead he votes more with Trump than anyone and allows the appointment of all these folks that continue to use ICE and violent attacks on our communities.”
