As soon as long-time U.S. Senator Pat Toomey announced his decision not to run for reelection in 2022, the race to become Pennsylvania’s newest senator was on. Senate hopefuls from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia with political pedigrees covering the far-right to the radical left have thrown their weight into a campaign of name recognition statewide. This crucial senatorial race, which has implications for control of the U.S. Senate, will almost certainly become nationalized. We are already seeing partisan divisions at the national level bleeding into our state election.
Amid the plethora of Democratic candidates, two contenders have statewide name recognition. U.S. Senate candidates Lt. Governor John Fetterman and Congressman Conor Lamb are both from the greater Pittsburgh area. Fetterman is more progressive and has grass roots support mostly from small donations of less than $200, totaling $6.4 million. Lamb is more moderate with over $1 million since declaring his candidacy at the beginning of August but only 10 percent from small donations of less than $200. As the race continues more candidates on the left are likely to climb in the polls.
State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta is a rising progressive candidate from the Philadelphia area with over $500,000 in donations from donors averaging $29 each. The tug of war between the leading Democratic candidates for the heart and soul of the Democratic Party in one of the most hotly contested swing states is one the entire nation will be watching heading into 2022.
Republicans seem to be a little more unified in their ideology than the Democrats. Former 4th Congressional District candidate and Fox News Commentator Kathy Barnette of Philadelphia is the current Republican U.S. Senate frontrunner according to the latest August poll by Franklin & Marshall College. Barnette is attempting to become Pennsylvania’s first Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Additionally, former 17th Congressional District candidate Sean Parnell from the Pittsburgh area is running for U.S. Senate after losing to Lamb in 2020. Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate share an unyielding support of Trump, populism and a disdain for the establishment Republican Party. Even though all of the leading Republican candidates have tried and failed against Democratic contenders in the past, they are trying again and this time they haven’t shied away from embracing the controversial former president in their campaign rhetoric.
Barnette lost the 2020 election for Pennsylvania’s 4th Congressional District in suburban Philadelphia, yet she has been able to make a name for herself following the election by leaning into claims of election fraud, appearing as a guest commentator on Fox News and by painting herself as a voice for Black conservatives. On the other hand, Parnell ran against Lamb in 2020, but after being defeated claimed election fraud and refused to concede. He joined a lawsuit to throw out 2.5 million votes he claimed were “illegally cast” and openly brags about being on the far-right wing conspiracy website Parler on his Facebook page.
Looking at both sides of the aisle, it is clear to see that national politics is playing out at the state level. Infighting between progressives and moderates plagues the Democratic Party while Trump-loving election fraud populists attempt to buck what they perceive as an elitist establishment within the Republican Party. Only time will tell how one of the most important midterm elections in the country will play out in 2022, but it’s safe to say that both sides need to use the primary season to sort out what their identity is going into the next election.
