Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is facing a striking political reversal: A new poll suggests the Democrat is now more popular among Republican voters than David McCormick, the state's Republican senator. An Inquirer/New York Times/Siena University poll published on Tuesday found that 73 percent of registered Republican voters in Pennsylvania viewed Fetterman favorably, compared with 63 percent who held a favorable view of McCormick. Meanwhile, support for Fetterman has collapsed among his base, with only 22 percent of Democratic voters viewing him favorably.
The senator's political brand has shifted notably since he won statewide office in 2022 as a populist Democrat. Today, his outspoken support for Israel, willingness to work with Republicans and criticism of his own party have made him one of the most unconventional members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. According to the polling, Fetterman's favorability numbers have effectively flipped since 2024.
Two years ago, 74 percent of Democrats viewed him favorably, and 64 percent of Republicans viewed him unfavorably. The latest survey found 73 percent of Republicans now have a positive opinion of the senator, while only 22 percent of Democrats do. The poll, conducted August 17-21 among 760 Pennsylvania voters, found broader dissatisfaction among Democratic voters.
Among likely Democratic voters, 67 percent believed Fetterman supported President Donald Trump too often, while about half said he had been overly supportive of Israel. Fetterman has repeatedly denied speculation that he plans to leave the Democratic Party. However, he has been one of the party's strongest defenders of Israel's military campaign following Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, and has occasionally backed Trump administration initiatives on issues such as immigration enforcement.
His criticism of Democrats has also become a regular feature of conservative media coverage. Despite the turmoil within his party, Fetterman's statewide standing remains relatively resilient. The polling shows that his overall favorability rating among registered Pennsylvania voters stands at 46 percent, only slightly below the 48 percent recorded in a comparable 2024 survey.
Independent voters also continue to view him more positively than negatively. The senator's complicated political position is increasingly attracting attention from betting and prediction markets, where traders are attempting to predict whether—or when—he will leave the party. On the Polymarket platform, a market asking whether Fetterman will leave the Democratic Party before the 2026 midterm elections was trading at roughly 7 percent on August 25, indicating that traders still see a party switch as unlikely despite months of speculation.
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