Susan Wild responds to reports she’s considering Senate run against John Fetterman: ‘Nothing is off the table’

A D.C.-based news outlet reported this week that former Rep. Susan Wild, who represented the Lehigh Valley in Congress before narrowly losing to now Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in 2024, is weighing a primary challenge against Sen. John Fetterman in 2028.

Semafor, a political news source, reported this week that Wild is weighing a challenge to Fetterman “according to a person familiar with her thinking who told Semafor she’s getting encouraged to run.”

The news comes as opposition to Fetterman grows within his own party — Fetterman has broken with Democrats on several key votes, including casting the deciding vote to confirm Sen. Markwayne Mullin as Department of Homeland Security secretary this week and siding with the GOP to end a government shutdown last year.

Last week, Fetterman publicly attacked fellow Democrats, alleging the party is controlled by “Trump Derangement Syndrome” — an insult more commonly used by Trump allies to describe his critics. However, he has publicly denied that he is considering switching parties.

According to a Quinnipiac poll released last month, 62% of Pennsylvania Democrats disapprove of Fetterman, though he maintains a net-positive 46% approval approval rating (compared to 40% disapproval) among all Pennsylvania registered voters.

In a written statement to The Morning Call, Wild confirmed that she has been approached by “a number of people” encouraging her to run.

“Nothing is off the table, but it’s worth noting that I’m involved in a number of very interesting things right now and am very content,” Wild said. “It is time, however, for PA to finally elect a woman to the US Senate.”

Wild is an outspoken Fetterman critic. On March 20, she wrote on the social media platform X: “Such a disappointment. PA deserves better. People worked so hard for Fetterman and he kicked them in the teeth. On to 2028 when we elect a real Dem.”

Wild is not the only Democrat weighing a challenge to Fetterman as inter-party discontent with him mounts.

According to PennLive, Rep. Brendan Boyle, who represents the Philadelphia area in Congress, and former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who previously represented a Pittsburgh district and ran unsuccessfully against Fetterman in the 2022 Senate primary, are weighing a challenge.