Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian American writer who grew up in Philadelphia, launched a campaign for U.S. Senate on Monday, becoming the first Democrat to announce a 2028 primary challenge against Sen. John Fetterman.
“I am running for the U.S. Senate to unseat John Fetterman and chart a new path for America,” Moor wrote on his campaign website — adding that he is “fed up, just like you are.”
Fetterman has been one of the most vocal proponents of U.S. support for Israel within the Democratic Party, at a time when lawmakers have pushed for the U.S. to reevaluate the level of military aid it gives to the country. Born in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, Moor has focused some of his early campaign messages on the destruction in the beleaguered enclave, while calling for the U.S. to stop funding conflicts abroad.
“A few years ago my birthplace was turned to rubble in a genocide funded by you and me, with the support of politicians on both sides of the aisle who can’t find money for transit or removing asbestos from our schools,” Moor wrote.
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Fetterman has not yet announced whether he plans to run again, and his office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some of Moor’s top issues also include ending the war in Iran and promoting what he calls a “dignity agenda: free healthcare, free childcare, and affordable housing.”
Moor, 42, has never held a major political office, but he recently served on the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee. Moor told The Philadelphia Inquirer, which first reported on his campaign, that he was inspired by the wins by candidates he felt aligned with this midterm cycle — specifically Rep.-elect Chris Rabb whose win in Pennsylvania’s 3rd Congressional District made him the state’s first democratic socialist congressman.
“The truth is, I’m not really running against Fetterman,” Moor told The Inquirer. “I’m running for good government.”
Moor is likely to face a crowded Democratic primary in 2028 due to the incumbent’s unpopularity — just 13% of Democrats in the state have a favorable view of Fetterman, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. Several current members of Congress have been floated as potential challengers as well, including Rep. Chris Deluzio, who recently said he has given “serious thought” to challenging Fetterman.
Like Fetterman did in 2022, Moor would be entering the race as a political outsider. He told The Inquirer that’s exactly why he launched his campaign so early.
Fetterman won his race four years ago as a progressive focusing on issues like workers’ rights and health care, beating Dr. Mehmet Oz — who currently serves as President Donald Trump’s administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Fetterman began to stray from the Democratic Party line following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel in 2023, saying in July that he would leave the party if it became “anti-Israel.”
Fetterman has broken with his party to confirm several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and stop Democratic-backed legislation, including an Iran war powers vote, from passing. In September, he also appeared in a video played at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas introducing his fellow Pennsylvanian, Sen. Dave McCormick. The video drew vocal criticism from Democrats, though he told reporters that he had no plans to switch parties.
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