Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman is the first major candidate to enter the race for the state’s open 2022 Senate seat.
With a 6 foot, 8 inch frame, the bald, bearded, and tattooed Democrat is likely to stand out in the race for retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey’s seat physically as well as personalitywise.
Fetterman is a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist and supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in 2016. He is just two years into his first term as lieutenant governor and was the mayor of the small Pittsburgh-area borough of Braddock, which has a population of about 2,100 people, starting in 2005, and has the town’s ZIP code tattooed on his arm. On Twitter, Fetterman has over 360,000 followers and often chimes in on the news of the day.
He filed paperwork for his Senate candidacy on Thursday.
Another potential Pennsylvania Senate candidate, former Republican Rep. Ryan Costello, criticized Fetterman for joining the race.
“PA is 49th out of 50 in vaccine distribution & the Dept. of State frittered away the right of sexual assault victims from having their day in court against predators & this guy is instead running for another office. How about do the damn job you were elected to help do first,” Costello said.
PA is 49th out of 50 in vaccine distribution & the Dept. of State frittered away the right of sexual assault victims from having their day in court against predators & this guy is instead running for another office. How about do the damn job you were elected to help do first. https://t.co/Fe2z9vD70j
— Ryan Costello (@RyanCostello) February 5, 2021
Fetterman’s living space matches his unconventional political profile. He lives in a loft converted from a car dealership with his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman, a Brazilian American activist, and their three children.
Other potential Democratic Senate candidates include Pennsylvania Reps. Conor Lamb, Brendan Boyle, and Chrissy Houlahan.
