While divisions among Democrats over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have highlighted the fault lines within the party, Senator John Fetterman's actions are unlikely to sway the presidential election in Pennsylvania, political analysts have told Newsweek.
The Democratic senator has been outspoken in his support for Israel since the deadly Hamas attack of October 7 and his position has garnered criticism as well as support within his party.
Fetterman faced backlash on social media after a post on X on October 18 that said "Now is not the time to talk about a ceasefire."
As of Thursday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that more than 10,800 people had been killed, according to The Associated Press. At least 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, the overwhelming majority on October 7, still according to the AP. More than 200 people are being held hostage by Hamas.
On Tuesday, the senator said that he was displaying posters of the people kidnapped by the Palestinian militant group in his Senate office. "In my front office I have displayed the posters of the innocent Israelis kidnapped by Hamas," Fetterman wrote on X.
"They will stay up until every single person is safely returned home," he added.
Fetterman is the junior senator for Pennsylvania, a key swing state that President Joe Biden won in 2020 and that could be crucial to his reelection bid in 2024 where he may once again face former President Donald Trump. Pennsylvania was one of three states that were crucial to Trump's election in 2016, along with Wisconsin and Michigan.
Fetterman has been a popular figure among left-leaning Democrats and has garnered attention for his use of use of social media and memes as well as an apparently down-to-earth attitude. However, his stance on Israel has angered some of the people who previously supported him. But anger at Fetterman may not translate into problems for Biden in 2024.
"I doubt it would cost Biden the election," David A. Bateman, an associate professor of government at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, told Newsweek.
"People can hold criticism or support for a senatorial candidate and opposition or support for a presidential candidate in their head at the same time. That's especially true when they're not on the same ballot, as in 2024," he said.
Mark Shanahan, an associate professor in politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K. and co-editor of The Trump Presidency: From Campaign Trail to World Stage, told Newsweek he didn't think criticism of Fetterman would be an issue next year.
"Essentially, if Trump is the GOP candidate, people other than MAGAs will vote Biden for fear of a Trump return, irrespective of Fetterman's statements," Shanahan said.
"Where the Democrats may suffer is further down the ballot," he added.
Newsweek has reached out to Senator Fetterman's office via email for comment.
A Tough Issue for Democrats
The current Israel-Hamas conflict and voters' views on Fetterman may not be likely to cost Biden the presidential election, but the issue is still a difficult one for the president's party.
"In very narrow partisan political terms, the current crisis is going to be harder for Democrats to navigate than Republicans, because the Democratic coalition is more inclusive and diverse," David A. Bateman, told Newsweek.
"As a result, it includes people whose experiences and sympathies pull in different directions," he said.
"It includes those who believe Israel must democratize the entirety of the actually existing single-state, becoming a multi-religious and multi-national state in addition to being a multi-religious and multi-national society, as well as those with a profound commitment to the state of Israel as it currently exists, as well as those passionately committed to the waning vision of two democratic and free states," Bateman added.
"These positions correspond only roughly to religious, racial, or ethnic background, though obviously they do correspond somewhat and correspond also with different geographic or factional electoral incentives," he added.
Bateman noted that the Republican party "has other fault lines, but not these ones."
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About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
