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First, he would need to overcome a crowded field of Democratic nomination contestants. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the sole state official standing, is the fundraising leader with a formidable base of small dollar donors across the state and country. State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, a 31-year-old state lawmaker, has the support of a handful of key progressive groups. Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh, a doctor and the only woman in the race, has been endorsed by EMILY’s List and 314 Action, a group that supports STEM candidates.
but the lamb is making the same bet that boosted Biden in last year’s Democratic presidential primaries and has seen more moderate candidates prevail in races in New York, Cleveland, New Orleans and Virginia this year. He summed up in his announcement video: “These are serious moments,” he said, directly on camera. “And this race will not be won on Twitter.”
Pennsylvania is arguably the Democrats’ best recovery opportunity next year as they set the stage to defend or possibly extend their Senate majority to 50-50. It’s one of only two GOP seats in states that Biden won last fall, and two-term GOP Senator Pat Toomey is no longer running, setting up a divisive Republican primary.
So far, the Democratic field has been a crossroads of ideological and geographic divides that challenge traditional primary paths and give each candidate different advantages. Fetterman and Lamb are from western Pennsylvania, while Kenyatta is from Philadelphia and Arkoosh from its suburbs. Kenyatta and State Sen. Sharif Street, who formed an exploratory committee, are black; the other three candidates are white.
“There are so many demographic and political dynamics pushing and pulling candidates in different directions that it’s hard to say now that one person or category of candidate has an advantage,” said Mark Nevins, a Democratic consultant state veteran.
“It’s a total melee,” a Democratic agent said of the primary field. “It’s a race we just can’t afford to fuck.”
Fetterman is the best-known candidate in the field given his unique style, state-wide office and national media profile. His campaign message included the call from his own party, consistently saying he would be the “51st vote” in the Senate for the Democrats’ agenda and loudly criticizing moderate members of the chamber for the filibuster. In a fundraising appeal this week, he pledged that he “will NOT be a Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema type senator.”
Fetterman’s campaign has touted his support for fundraising statewide, including in the west where he shares a geographic base with Lamb, as proof of his grassroots support. His campaign said he had received more than 250,000 individual donations.
Joe Calvello, spokesman for Fetterman, said he “represents the necessary balance between eligibility and reliability for democratic ideals in an era of a tightly divided Senate.”
Lamb hosted a virtual fundraiser with Manchin in the spring. But, in May, Lamb called for an end to the filibuster – and in this week’s interview he touted his support for campaign finance reform and union rights as “economically progressive positions.” He admitted his image was more subdued on issues such as law enforcement – he sharply criticized calls for police funding after the 2020 election. But he also called the Covid relief legislation the legislation. “The most progressive” of his life.
“I was able to defend him in the campaign and then vote for it, and I was proud to do so,” he said. “I think that puts me somewhere in the middle of where we are as a party.”
A Democrat from Pennsylvania, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said Lamb was a strong general election candidate, but was “not a well-known commodity” in the eastern part of the state and that he could face the skepticism from the base of the party.
“If he comes out of the primary, I think Conor is a very good general election candidate,” the Pennsylvania Democrat said. “I think he’s having a hard time getting out of a primary.”
Sean McElwee, whose polling firm Data for Progress published a poll in May for Fetterman’s campaign showing him leading, said the lieutenant governor serves the state, but in a “deeply progressive way” that emphasizes its eligibility.
“If he wins, he can serve as a role model for progressives on how you can have those values, but pick your places to serve your state and still win the election,” McElwee said.
Some Democrats see Lamb’s entry as a major boost for Arkoosh, who is lesser-known but represents the third largest county in Pennsylvania, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. She would be the first woman to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate if elected. Spokesmen for EMILY’s List and 314 Action touted her medical background and county office experience as key attributes that set her apart from the field.
Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action and former Pennsylvania congressional candidate, said Arkoosh had “shown she knows how to get things done – from reducing veteran homelessness to establishing a golden standard for election security, to leadership during a pandemic. “And an Arkoosh spokesperson, Rachel Petri, touted her fundraising of over $ 1 million during her first quarter of the race, which was just behind Fetterman.
Kenyatta, the youngest candidate on the field, is said to be the state’s first black senator and the first openly gay man elected to the chamber. He competes with Fetterman for progressive support: the PAC Collective, Democracy for America and the Working Families Party have approved his candidacy.
He focused his race on working class voters and said he would represent them better in the Senate because of his lived experiences. He touted his support for Biden at the start of the presidential race in a statement, and said he looked forward to working with Biden “to serve working families like mine, as I have done since I was there. ‘I supported the first day of his campaign “.
The Republican side is an equally crowded primary, although the candidates have lower profiles. There could be potential revenge depending on the Democratic primary: Sean Parnell, a military veteran, lost to Lamb last year, and Jeff Bartos, a businessman, lost the 2018 lieutenant governor’s race. Carla Sands, a former Trump ambassador, recently entered the race, and Kathy Barnette has raised the most donations (Bartos is partially self-funded and has a substantial financial advantage).
The primary has been more confrontational, with candidates vying for office and seeking to appeal to Trump supporters, a trend in most Republican primaries in Senate races so far this year.
The only direct attacks from the Democratic side came when The Collective PAC ran digital ads criticizing Fetterman about a 2013 incident in which he pointed a gun at a black jogger several months ago. Even with Lamb’s entry this week, the candidates have done little to directly criticize their opponents within the party.
Mike Mikus, a Pittsburgh-based Democratic strategist, said the race was “wide open” and he expects more direct confrontations to occur.
“I haven’t seen it yet,” Mikus said. “But with any multi-candidate race, and one race that’s up for grabs, I expect some sharp trading at some point.”
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