This could be quite a daily double for Republicans.
First off, graham platner has officially ended his run as the Democrat Senate candidate from Maine, and is off the ballot…
…which leaves Maine Democrats the job of hand-picking his successsor, who will inherently be someone the Democrat voters of Maine did not choose (aren’t these the folks who complain daily that our democracy is in jeopardy?) to start a campaign from scratch.
If I were Republican incumbent Susan Collins, I would be a very happy person right now.
And then we have John Fetterman, who has spent much of his first term as the Democrat Senator from Pennsylvania talking down his party’s leftward lurch.
Here is the beginning of Matthew Rozsa’s article at hard-left alternet.com, via msn.com:
‘He’s gonna flip’: Critics predict Fetterman revolt after joining forces with a Republican
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is widely regarded as one of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate, frequently abandoning his party during key votes to align himself with President Donald Trump.
Now some political analysts believe Fetterman may ditch the Democrats altogether.
“He’s gonna flip,” anti-Trump Republican strategist Rick Wilson posted on X on Thursday. Similarly former Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA) posted on X that there was “another betrayal from Fetterman but look on the bright side, we’ll get Republicans to burn their money before Pennsylvania fires him.”
Bonews and pointed out that Fetterman recently created joint fundraising committees with a Republican from his own state, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA).
Hmmmm, could this be? Obviously neither Rick Wilson nor me nor you knows for sure.
But if Fetterman does so; if he spends the last 2 1/2 years of his senate term as a Republican – coupled with Maine incumbent Susan Collins obviously more likely to hold on to her senate seat now that platner has plotzed – this would almost certainly be the end of any hope Democrats have of flipping the Senate.
And there’s more.
If the Fetterman flip were to happen, it will also create a significant campaign strategy for Republicans, i.e. pointing out that Fetterman left the Democrat Party because it has yawed so far from the mainstream. And that might – might – convince one or more moderate house members – especially among the 21 Jewish Democrat house members, given the Democrat left’s strong dislike, even hatred, of Israel – to do the same.
This is getting more and more interesting by the nanosecond. Let’s stay tuned and see how it actually plays out.
