Mike DeVanney, a spokesman for McCormick’s campaign, said the unusual bipartisan arrangement originated with donors who wanted to support both senators.
“This is a donor-driven effort,” DeVanney said.
“This group of donors value the collaboration exhibited by Senators McCormick and Fetterman for Pennsylvania and want to support both of them,” he added.
News of the joint fundraising committee immediately intensified speculation that Fetterman could eventually leave the Democratic Party or begin formally working with Republicans.
The collaboration also drew criticism from prominent voices on the political left.
Fox News co-host Jessica Tarlov reacted to the news with a brief message, writing, “So so bad.”
Anti-Trump political strategist Rick Wilson offered an even more direct prediction about Fetterman’s political future.
“He’s gonna flip,” Wilson wrote.
Despite the growing speculation, Fetterman has previously said that he has no general plan to become a Republican. His positions on abortion rights, labor unions, marijuana legalization, food assistance and other domestic policies continue to align more closely with Democrats.
His support for Israel, however, has placed him in increasingly open conflict with progressive activists and Democratic Socialists who have demanded restrictions on American military assistance to the country.
Fetterman has also criticized the rise of the party’s socialist wing, arguing that some activists no longer represent the values of mainstream Democrats.
During an interview at the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize event, Fetterman described recent electoral victories by candidates supported by the Democratic Socialists of America as a major success for what he called the “dirtbag left.”
“It was a really big night for the dirtbag left, you know, last week, without a doubt,” Fetterman said.
The senator’s bipartisan fundraising partnership, Republican support and continued disagreements with Democratic progressives are likely to keep speculation about his political future alive.
For now, Fetterman remains a Democrat. But he has made clear that if the party officially turns against Israel, he believes remaining inside it would no longer be possible.
