John Fetterman Is Historically Unpopular, Brutal Polls Show

When Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was elected in 2023, the Democratic Party thought it might have a new kind of leader. The gruff, hoodie-wearing Fetterman was able to win over the working class in the country’s most important swing state and defeat his Republican challenger, Mehmet Oz, despite suffering a stroke in the middle of the campaign.

As it turns out, the Democratic establishment was right—just not in the way they thought.

Since Fetterman’s election, his net approval with Pennsylvania Democrats has dropped 108 points, from +68 in 2023 to -40 in 2026, as CNN’s Harry Enten reported Friday.

“He’s down there with the Titanic,” Enten said. “There’s no historical analog to his unpopularity.”

Fetterman’s unpopularity is easily explained: Since taking office, he has drifted hard to the right, for reasons largely unknown. He is often the lone Democrat who votes alongside the GOP, for instance when he voted to continue funding the Department of Homeland Security in February or to advance GOP Senator Markwayne Mullin’s nomination for secretary of homeland security out of committee last week. He is also probably the most vocally pro-Israel Democrat in the Senate.

It’s a stark change for a politician who formerly championed progressive causes.

Enten noted that Fetterman’s popularity among his own party is worse than that of every single sitting senator who lost a primary this century. He will certainly be a target for replacement when the Pennsylvania Senate primaries occur in 2028.