Fetterman Defeats Stack in Crowded LG Field

Governor Tom Wolf has a new running mate.

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman built a national and statewide following as an advocate for the rust belt and a 2016 U.S. Senate candidate. He was endorsed in the race by Senator Bernie Sanders and ran as a strong progressive.  

But on Tuesday night, the most important word on the ballot was “Allegheny”. Fetterman was the only candidate in the five person LG primary not from the Philadelphia media market. He ran up his margins across the state and stayed competitive in the southeast.

Incumbent Mike Stack, already beset by ethics questions, faced a challenge from Deputy Philadelphia Mayor Nina Ahmad; Chester County Commissioner Kathy Cozzone; and Ray Sosa, an attorney from Montgomery County. With 85% of precincts in, he was in fourth place behind Ahmad and Cozzone, respectively.

He and Wolf will face State Sen. Scott Wagner and Berks County businessman Jeff Bartos in the fall.

May 15th, 2018 | Posted in Front Page Stories, Governor, Top Stories | 21 Comments

21 thoughts on “Fetterman Defeats Stack in Crowded LG Field”

  1. Achilles says:

    Welcome to Pennsylvania, where the Establishment has more tentacles and deceptions than S.P.E.C.T.R.E..

    Progressives, you have been duped.

    Let’s spell it out:

    R- Review of the Fetterman Facts;

    E- Establishment Democrats in Pennsylvania rally behind Katie McGinty for U.S. Senate in 2016; a former Rendell Cabinet member and corporate shill;

    N- National operative and Brooklyn-based consultant Bill Hyers, an Establishment consultant who helped get wins for Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter and President Obama in Pennsylvania, curiously brought in to run Fetterman campaign against establishment darling McGinty;;

    D- Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and Establishment DON Chuck Schumer threaten Veteran Groups wishing to back the Sestak campaign with retribution;

    E- Entire Western PA “Leadership Team” of Fitz, Doyle, Costa, Peduto back McGinty and give Fetterman a pass despite their heavy handedness towards those running against their chosen candidates in other primaries, while Rendell’s Western PA “Carey Group” consultants also work for Fetterman;

    L- Late polling in 2016 Primary shows Fetterman’s campaign dragging down Sestak and to be sure of victory for McGinty, Democratic insider groups dump millions into race against Sestak;

    L- Loss by Sestak to McGinty is within margin of Fetterman votes taken away from Sestak in primary, progressive base is lost, while the less qualified McGinty stumbles and equivocates into November, enabling Toomey to get reelected;

    Fetterman is owned by the establishment and, to his credit, has done a remarkable job of hiding his personal wealth, York County Republican family (and Wolf) connections and ties to the establishment while posing as a progressive/populist.

    He used the progressive banner as a Trojan horse in hopes to acquire power.

    The puppet master is smiling.

    1. Tim says:

      A poor politician is a poor politician. What’s your beef against Fetterman pally? Is it because felony record prevents you from running or is it your klan affiliations or the white supremacist memberships you hold? Obama, Sestak and McGinty are long gone so your comparisons are not even relevant! It’s a new day under the Trumpmeister and Wagner and his brand of conservatism fails to appeal to even John Birchers.

      1. TheGoon says:

        You missed the whole point of the comment you cretin

    2. Tinfoil hat says:

      This is truly absurd. NOBODY took Fetterman seriously in 2016. He polled at 4% in the last poll before the election. Sestack was not a progressive. He was just a weak candidate who had already lost to Toomey and so was McGinty. I’m sure that’s why Fetterman ran.

      If Rendell were looking to tip the balance, Fetterman is the last candidate he would have selected. McGinty was left of Sestack. Nobody even knew who he was outside of Pittsburgh. Check the donor lists from 2016. Nobody with the party was giving him a dime.

      You are clearly mentally ill. May want to up your meds. Seriously.

    3. Tinfoil hat says:

      Not to mention, Fetterman has been a social worker for the last 20 years *actually doing* the things that “progressives” all say we should be doing. People like you have positions, while Fetterman has actually done it.

  2. Bryan says:

    Considering he was in the news for committing several felonies with a firearm in Braddock, where he assaulted a jogger, how did he get on the ballot?

  3. A day that won't be forgotten says:

    Fetterman will make an easy race a difficult one for Wolf, as not all Dems in PA are Socialists like Fetterman, and this will likely suppress turnout for Dems. The negatives for Fetterman are enormous! I can see Wagner’s ads now: Fetterman hunting African American males down with a shotgun, the ‘Socialist angle’, never having had a job, etc.

    Ahmad deftly proved that self-funding with mega-money can bring a great second place finish – and a colossal waste of money.

    Cozzone can copy Fetterman’s “I was outspent 10-1” pout into “I was outspent 20-1” and try to become the next mesiah…although she might have to shave her head and get a few tatoos

    1. Isaac L. says:

      This Fox has a longing for grapes:
      He jumps, but the bunch still escapes.
      So he goes away sour;
      And, ’tis said, to this hour
      Declares that he’s no taste for grapes.

      1. A day that won't be forgotten says:

        the fox still likes the grapes. The fox is just smart enough to know the grapes are only free for a wee little bit, then you have to start paying for them.

        Otherwise, the hounds will eat the fox, grapes and all…

        1. Isaac L. says:

          Aesop may beg to differ, but it’s an interesting new take on an ancient classic.

    2. F and M says:

      Is Fetterman a socialist, or a social Democrat?

  4. Isaac L. says:

    Fetterman is well liked, especially among young progressives. He has blue collar cred, and has long been a champion of the opioids issue. I think he is only a boon to the ticket, and might both motivate turnout among key constituencies and bring Obama-to-Trump voters back into the fold.

  5. Zakrey Bissell says:

    I will write me in no matter where.

  6. Zakrey Bissell says:

    So what, just because I live in West Virginia doesn’t mean I can’t supports all the incumbents and winners I like to.

  7. Zakrey Bissell says:

    Congrats John Fetterman and I will probably be supporting me and my friend Mike for this November instead

  8. Same Old Same Old says:

    Wagner’s likely negative campaign is now without Stack who would have been an issue although not a major one as folks don’t care about the LT Gov race as it relates to statewide issues. Still, the “Stack” matter is gone and now Wolf is even in better shape than before.

  9. Ripped off contractor says:

    Ahmad should have used the $800,000 of her husbands money she spent kneecapping Stack and paid back all the contractors they’ve been sued by for ripping them off. Truly awful people.

    LOL at Ahmad. You are a sad joke. Please go away and pay those people you owe money to.

  10. Sean says:


  11. jjcnpa says:

    Fetterman’s numbers were through the roof in western PA

  12. Zakrey Bissell says:

    congrats John Fetterman and I will probably be supporting for Scott Wagner and Jeff Bartos for this November instead.

    1. Bakrey Zissell says:

      Asshat, you don’t even live in PA

Comments are closed.