(The Center Square) – The decision by U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick to launch a joint fundraising committee one week ago garnered attention from politicos in the Keystone State and beyond.
On Monday, McCormick hinted at who was behind the idea.
“A very conservative, very strong supporter of the president, I won’t say his name yet because it’ll become public soon enough, but a very big donor for the president and a donor for me came to me and he said, ‘I love that you and Fetterman are working to meet the needs of Pennsylvania, working together for Pennsylvania. Would you mind if I did something for both of you? And I said, “Heck no!,” McCormick told Benny Johnson, a conservative commentator, during an interview earlier this week.
“So this guy’s going to do it,” McCormick continued. “It’ll have lots of good supporters of the fact that we work together for Pennsylvania.”
Common Ground PA filed with the Federal Election Commission, known as the FEC, on July 6. Every Vote PAC, Pennsylvania Honor, Fetterman for PA, and Friends of Dave McCormick are listed as the four joint fundraising participants for the new effort.
McCormick, a Republican, is listed as the leadership PAC sponsor for Pennsylvania Honor, while Fetterman, a Democrat, is named as the leadership PAC sponsor for Every Vote PAC.
Friends of Dave McCormick is the principal campaign committee for McCormick’s campaign, as Fetterman for PA plays an identical role for Fetterman’s campaign.
Last week, The Center Square contacted both campaigns asking why they decided to team up and who they are hoping to help with it. A spokesperson for the McCormick campaign responded by saying that “this is a donor driven effort.”
“This group of donors value the collaboration exhibited by Senators McCormick and Fetterman for Pennsylvania and want to support both of them,” Mike DeVanney, a McCormick campaign spokesman said.
Fetterman’s campaign has still not responded to a request for comment.
Joint fundraising committees can be created by two or more candidates, PACs or party committees to share the costs of fundraising and split the proceeds, according to OpenSecrets, a non-partisan watchdog organization.
Christopher Nicholas, a longtime GOP consultant and publisher of the PA Political Digest, described this decision by Fetterman and McCormick as a “very intriguing development, and a further sign of the close coordination on not just policy, but now political issues” between the two during an interview with The Center Square last week.
“What most is of interest to me now is who do they want to support through this new joint fundraising committee?,” Nicholas said, adding that he’s never seen elected officials from opposite sides of the aisle in Pennsylvania join forces to create a joint fundraising committee.
It remains to be seen which candidates will be supported by this effort from Fetterman and McCormick, however, it is clear that a variety of Democratic officials do not support the decision by the state’s senior senator.
“It’s crazy stuff,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-17th District, in a recent interview with liberal commentator Jack Cocchiarella. “I mean, at this point, John Fetterman is fundraising to help the Republicans keep their Senate majority, keep their House majority.”
“I mean, we have battleground races in Pennsylvania that we are trying to flip, and now we’ve got John Fetterman helping the Republicans raise money to beat Democrats,” he continued. “It’s just crazy stuff. There’s no good explanation. I don’t get it, man. I just really don’t get it.”
Deluzio also took to social media on multiple occasions to slam the decision.
As dissatisfaction has grown for Fetterman among fellow Democrats, Deluzio has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the seat in two years.
Another name mentioned as a potential candidate for the 2028 race is former Congressman Conor Lamb.
He’s also shared multiple posts on social media criticizing Fetterman over the new joint fundraising committee.
“He rubs our face in his betrayal every day it seems,” Lamb wrote on Bluesky. “But sorry John Republican money is not going to save you, and your buddies at Fox are going to forget your name as soon as Pennsylvania fires you.”
In another post on X, Lamb wrote “They could’ve teamed up to get healthcare back for 160,000 Pennsylvanians who lost it. Could’ve teamed up to address PA’s grocery prices, among the fastest-rising in the nation. But no, they only team up to get money for themselves, sell books, and pose for cameras.”
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-2nd District, has also been named as a potential candidate to challenge Fetterman.
He shared a post on X from J.J. Abbott, a Democratic consultant, who described the decision by Fetterman to join McCormick in this effort as “probably the biggest betrayal in this is Bob Casey.”
“Casey did everything possible to help Fetterman in 2022 and set him up for success in DC,” Abbott wrote on social media. “Then Fetterman did nothing for him in 2024 except make his life hell. Now Fetterman is a lackey for Casey’s former opponent.”
The Pennsylvania Democratic and Republican Party did not respond to multiple requests for comment about this new joint committee.
A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday showed that Fetterman has a positive approval rating for his job performance, although his numbers are stronger with the opposing party.
Forty-eight percent of voters approve of the way Fetterman is handling his job as United States Senator, while 41% disapprove, with 11% not offering an opinion, in a poll of self-identified registered voters in Pennsylvania from July 9-13.
However, 69% of Democrats disapprove of Fetterman’s job performance, while 19% approve. 77% of Republicans approve of the way the Democratic senator is handling his job, while 12% disapprove. Among independents, 48% disapprove of the way Fetterman is handling his job and 44% approve.
Fifty-two percent polled would like to see Fetterman leave the Democratic Party, while 31% would like to see him stay in the Democratic Party, with 16% not offering an opinion.
As for McCormick, 40% of voters approve of the way he’s handling his job as Senator, while 33% disapprove, and 28% offered no opinion.
