All the big names hit the “Joe Rogan Experience” before Election Day, and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was no exception. However, he had grim news for the Democratic Party.
Fetterman told Rogan that Trump’s message continues to resonate with Pennsylvania voters in a way that differs from other Republican candidates. He expressed concern that Vice President Kamala Harris won’t have enough support to win despite spending significant portions of campaign funds and rallying in the state.
Pennsylvania is critical to each candidate as it’s one of the crucial battleground states that could determine the election outcome because it has 19 electoral votes— more than any other swing state.
In 2016, while being a surrogate for twice-failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Fetterman noticed a significant shift of momentum toward Trump after he began visiting small rural areas of the Keystone State that most people don’t usually see.
“I’ll never forget, it was June in 2016, and I was a surrogate for Clinton, and Trump announced, ‘I’m showing up in a town called Monessen,’ which is a small steel town in the valley down from ours, and I’m like why is he showing up [there], I mean that’s not… so either he’s crazy, or they’ve plugged into something,” he recalled, pointing out that the 45th president was able to increase vote share to about 80 percent, while other candidates could only reach a maximum of 50 or 60 percent.
This is not Fetterman's first prediction that Trump would take Pennsylvania in the 2024 race.
Earlier this week, the Democratic senator said he had no confidence Harris could win the state.
Top Kamala Surrogate John Fetterman has no confidence in Kamala's ability to win Pennsylvania:
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 3, 2024
"Trump definitely has a connection with voters here in Pennsylvania." pic.twitter.com/3lAD3Mvmfx
Meanwhile, a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll has Harris and Trump tied, with 49 percent of the vote. In bellwether Northampton County, Trump was found to be in the lead, 50 to 48 percent, and the two are tied in another bellwether area at 48 percent each in Erie County.
A bellwether region is where election results traditionally reflect how the overall electorate votes.
This starkly contrasts with where the election was headed in September when Harris took the lead in both counties. Both counties have correctly predicted the overall winner of presidential elections since 2008.