Key facts
- Moor, 42, was born in Rafah in southern Gaza and has written for the Guardian, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Moor said he supports withdrawing US aid from Israel and imposing sanctions to secure equal rights for Palestinians.
- Fetterman said in July that an official anti-Israel Democratic platform would be his red line for leaving the party.
- Mike Weidinger, a Lancaster county Democrat, said he expects bigger, mainstream names to enter the primary.
- Weidinger named Chris Deluzio, a Pittsburgh-area representative, and state legislator Malcolm Kenyatta as likely challengers.
Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian American writer and journalist, said he would run in a Democratic primary against Senator John Fetterman for his Pennsylvania seat in 2028, when Fetterman is up for re-election. Moor, 42, was born in Rafah in southern Gaza and has previously written for the Guardian, he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Moor said he was "not really running against Fetterman" and that he was running for good government and the rule of law. He supports withdrawing US aid from Israel and imposing sanctions aimed at securing equal rights for Palestinians, a stance that contrasts with Fetterman's pro-Israel position.
Fetterman has said he has no intention of leaving the Democrats but suggested he would change his mind if the party became "anti-Israel." "That's my red line," he said in July. "If the Democratic party becomes official anti-Israel, then that's when I would force me out."
The challenge follows Democratic wins in last week's midterm elections, in which the party won at least 54 of the Senate's 100 seats. The comfortable majority removes the prospect of Fetterman's vote being decisive, a relief to Democratic strategists who feared he could no longer be relied on for support on contentious issues.
Fetterman had already caused disillusionment among many Pennsylvania Democrats who campaigned for him in 2022, when he ran as a progressive outsider. He has angered party members by occasionally speaking out in support of Donald Trump, who has praised Fetterman as "a great guy" and said he would "love" him to become a Republican. In September, Fetterman sent a video message to the Republicans' midterm convention in Texas praising Pennsylvania's Republican senator, Dave McCormick.
Democrats say Moor is unlikely to be the only challenger. Mike Weidinger, a veteran Lancaster county Democrat with state-wide connections, said he was "pretty confident" that bigger, mainstream names would enter the race, citing Chris Deluzio, a representative from the Pittsburgh area, and Malcolm Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state legislator, as likely challengers. Weidinger said people generally think Fetterman either misrepresented himself when he first ran or changed completely from what he said he was.