Democrats are trying to figure out what to do about John Fetterman. One of them is stepping up

By MARC LEVY ENOLA Pa AP Democratic Sen John Fetterman of Pennsylvania isn t even up for reelection until but already a one-time primary foe former U S Rep Conor Lamb is crisscrossing Pennsylvania and social media looking and sounding like he s preparing to challenge Fetterman again At town hall after town hall across Pennsylvania Democrats and allied progressive groups aren t hearing from Fetterman in person or Republicans who control Washington for that matter But they are hearing from Lamb a living reminder of the Democrat they could have elected instead of Fetterman The former congressman has emerged as an in-demand town hall headliner sometimes as a stand-in for Fetterman who just might bash Fetterman I thought I was going to play Senator Fetterman Lamb joked as he sat down in front of a central Pennsylvania crowd last Sunday Conor Lamb listens to a participant after he spoke to the crowd at a town hall-style event organized by progressive groups at Central Penn College Sunday June in Enola Pa AP Photo Marc Levy Sen John Fetterman D-Pa left and Sen Dave McCormick R-Pa right greet before participating in a debate moderated by Fox News anchor Shannon Bream not shown Monday June at the Edward M Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Monday June in Boston as livestreamed on Fox Nation AP Photo Steven Senne Conor Lamb pauses while speaking to the crowd at a town hall-style event organized by progressive groups at Central Penn College Sunday June in Enola Pa AP Photo Marc Levy Conor Lamb speaks to the crowd at a town hall-style event organized by progressive groups at Central Penn College Sunday June in Enola Pa AP Photo Marc Levy Conor Lamb speaks to the crowd at a town hall-style event organized by progressive groups at Central Penn College Sunday June in Enola Pa AP Photo Marc Levy Show Caption of Conor Lamb listens to a participant after he spoke to the crowd at a town hall-style event organized by progressive groups at Central Penn College Sunday June in Enola Pa AP Photo Marc Levy Expand Democrats are frustrated with Fetterman Lamb s reemergence comes at an in-between moment roughly halfway through Fetterman s six-year term and is helping define the struggle facing Democrats in swing-state Pennsylvania There Democrats figure prominently in their national effort to push back on President Donald Trump but also in their struggle to figure out what to do about Fetterman who is under fire from rank-and-file Democrats for being willing to cooperate with Trump Frustration with Fetterman has been on display on social media at the massive No Kings rally in Philadelphia and among the Democratic Party s faithful The steering committee of the progressive organization Indivisible PA last month urged Fetterman to resign It s quite a turnabout for the hoodies-and-shorts-wearing Fetterman elected in with an everyman persona and irreverent wit who was unafraid to challenge convention For certain progressives frustration with Fetterman began with his staunch endorsement for Israel s punishing war against Hamas in Gaza an issue that divides Democrats It s moved beyond that since Trump took office Now selected are wondering why he s as they see it kissing up to Trump why he s chastising fellow Democrats for their anti-Trump resistance and whether he s even committed to their causes at all Largest part not long ago they question his promotion for Trump s bombing of Iran It hurts commented John Abbott who attended Sunday s event in suburban Harrisburg Speaking at the flagship No Kings rally in Philadelphia Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg name-checked Fetterman We re looking to the leaders who will fight for us because even currently there are folks among the Democratic Party who think we should roll over and play dead Greenberg revealed Anyone seen John Fetterman here in the present day The crowd booed Why is Conor Lamb crisscrossing Pennsylvania again In Pittsburgh progressives trying to land an in-person town hall with Fetterman or first-term Republican Sen David McCormick noticed when the two senators advertised an event together at a downtown restaurant to celebrate the release of McCormick s new book Progressive groups organized to protest it and after it got moved to a private location with a private invite list went ahead with their own town hall They invited Lamb and a local Democratic state representative instead More invitations for Lamb started rolling in Related Articles RFK Jr s made promises about vaccines Here s what he s done as vitality secretary Supreme Court upholds Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing pornography online Supreme Court says Maryland parents can pull their kids from citizens school lessons using LGBTQ books Supreme Court preserves key part of Obamacare coverage requirements Supreme Court OKs fee that subsidizes phone internet services in schools libraries and rural areas By his count he s now attended at least a dozen town halls and party events easily clocking more than miles to appear in small towns small cities and suburbs often in conservative areas Showing up matters and it really does make a difference stated Dana Kellerman a Pittsburgh-based progressive organizer Is that going to matter to John Fetterman I really don t know I don t know what he s thinking I don t know if he s inevitably been this person or if he s changed in the last two years Fetterman has brushed off criticism saying he s a committed Democrat insisting he was elected to engage with Republicans and perhaps hypocritically questioning why Democrats would criticize fellow Democrats At times Fetterman has criticized Trump questioning the move to punch our allies in the mouth with tariffs or the need for cuts to social-safety net programs in the GOP s regulation to extend s tax cuts Fetterman s office didn t respond to an inquiry about Lamb Is Conor Lamb running for Senate For his part Lamb a former U S Marine and federal prosecutor says he isn t running for anything right now but he ll do whatever he can to stop this slide that we re on toward a less democratic country and try to create one in which there s more opportunity for people To certain Democrats he sounds like a candidate That he s doing these town halls is a good indication that he ll be running for something so it s a good thing noted Janet Bargh who attended the event in suburban Harrisburg Aside from the town halls he spoke at the Unite for Veterans event on the National Mall He has also been proceeding on social media doing local radio appearances and appearing on MSNBC where he in recent months criticized the June military parade ordered up by Trump Not long ago it was hard to envision Lamb losing a race ever In he won a heavily Trump-friendly congressional district in southwestern Pennsylvania in a special polling It was the center of the political universe that spring drawing campaign visits by Trump and then-presidential hopeful Joe Biden Suddenly Lamb was ascendant Then he ran for Senate and lost handily by more than two-to-one to Fetterman in s primary People often ask Lamb if he s going to challenge Fetterman again Lamb commented he reminds them that Fetterman has three years left in his term and pivots the conversation to what Democrats need to do to win elections in and Still Lamb is unafraid to criticize Fetterman publicly And he noted he s a magnet for Democrats to air their unhappiness with Fetterman What he hears over and over is frustration that Fetterman spends too much time attacking fellow Democrats and not enough time challenging Trump And that is I think what s driving the frustration more than any one particular issue Lamb declared At the town hall Lamb wasn t afraid to admit he d lost to Fetterman But he turned it into an attack line When I watch the person who beat me give up on every significant issue that he campaigned on the more I reasoned that the point of all of this in the first place is advocacy for what s right and wrong Lamb notified the crowd And advocacy for not just a particular party to win but for the type of country where it matters if when you stand up you tell the truth The crowd cheered Follow Marc Levy on X at https x com timelywriter