Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman made a visit to Lansdale Borough on Wednesday afternoon, as he continues his push for the Democratic nomination to run for the state’s second U.S. Senate seat in the November midterm election.
Fetterman, who was joined by his wife, Gisele, along with a handful of local elected officials and party leaders, began his visit with a meet and greet at Boardroom Spirits, before heading out into the borough to meet with residents and local business owners. Stops included Well Crafted Beer Co., Scent and Sip, Round Guys Brewing Company and Backyard Beans.
“[Lansdale] is an important community in Pennsylvania,” said Fetterman, during a brief interview at Round Guys. “I got a chance to meet the local officials, talk about how they generate their own electricity, and the kind of revitalization that exemplifies all that’s right in American politics right now – collectively working to make a better community for everyone. It’s growing at an organic and transformative level and it’s just a pleasure to spend my time here. It’s been great.”
Fetterman noted that he enjoyed tasting the beers at both Well Crafted and Round Guys, and his wife had picked up four candles during their visit to Scent and Sip.
“I want to come back to Round Guys, sit and relax, and order a cheesesteak with a Liquid Swords. That’s my campaign promise,” Fetterman said.
According to a poll by The Franklin & Marshall College that was released last week, Fetterman leads the Democratic field among voters who have a preferred candidate, though 44% of Democrats who responded said they were undecided. As the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, however, the poll has a high margin of error at plus or minus six percentage points, and the survey pertained to a primary election that is still two months away.
Born in West Reading, Fetterman moved to Braddock Borough in Allegheny County in 2001 and served as their longtime mayor from 2005 through 2019, when he became lieutenant governor. Fetterman previously ran for Toomey’s seat in 2016, however he was defeated by the Obama-endorsed candidate, Katie McGinty, in the 2016 Democratic primary.
Now, Fetterman is among a Democratic field that includes state Reps. Conor Lamb — who has a local visit scheduled for Sunday — and Malcolm Kenyatta, as well as a handful of other candidates across the state. Locally, Montgomery County Commissioner Dr. Valerie Arkoosh had announced her intention to run for the seat, however she withdrew from contention and shut her campaign down in February.
“It was an absolute pleasure having Lt. Governor Fetterman and is wife visit our community and engage with our local business owners and residents,” said Lansdale Mayor Garry Herbert, who helped organize the visit. “John is one of the most down to earth people I have met and really values getting to know people and listening to their stories while talking about common-sense solutions to community issues. As a former mayor, he knows just how hard that can be and sees Lansdale as a great example of what can be achieved when progress is prioritized over politics. It is my hope that this is just the first of many visits to our great community and I look forward to working with him to keep Lansdale moving forward together.”
Herbert said he expects Fetterman to circle back to the area in the coming months, though no visits have been scheduled at this time. To read more about the Democratic primary, click here.
{Editor’s note: we did use a small portion of our interview time with Fetterman to get him on the record regarding his purported fanhood of Sheetz in the state’s convenience store wars. Suffice to say, he didn’t break rank. Video of the exchange at Crossing Broad.)
