Democrat John Fetterman Vows To Fight 'Corporate Greed' In Final Pre-Election Rally

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a final pre-election rally Monday in Pittsburgh. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

PITTSBURGH ― As the opening notes of Styx’s classic “Renegade” came over the loudspeaker on Monday night, John Fetterman slowly descended from the balcony of the events space at the Carpenters Union Hall.

He gently waved a flag of the Carpenters and Joiners Union in his hand as he made his way through the crowd and up to the stage for his final rally before voters head to the polls Tuesday. The chorus came on just as he reached the stage, “The jig is up / the news is out / They’ve finally found me.”

The procession and musical accompaniment ― a song that Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, saves for rallies in Pittsburgh alone ― had a momentous, graduation-like vibe.

Less than six months after surviving a nearly fatal stroke, Fetterman, currently Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, had made it to the finish line in his contest against Republican Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon who became a daytime TV star.

In his remarks to a room filled with union members and other local supporters, Fetterman offered many of his by-now familiar riffs about protecting abortion rights, defending the “union way of life” and sending Oz back to New Jersey from whence he came.

But he also laid out a closing economic argument that he has been emphasizing more in his speeches in recent weeks.

Fetterman claimed that Oz’s wealth, embodied by his ownership of 10 mansions, makes it impossible for him to really understand how inflation is affecting ordinary people.

“Inflation is a tax on working people,” Fetterman declared. “You can’t fight inflation if you don’t understand it.”

Echoing congressional Democrats, Fetterman promised to fight “corporate greed” and “price gouging.”

“Inflation hurts all of us, but why does that lead to record profits for corporate America?” Fetterman demanded.

Mehmet Oz, the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, speaks at a rally alongside former President Donald Trump in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Jacqueline Larma/Associated Press

He also linked inflation to the supply-chain crunch created by overseas manufacturing, using it to make the case for his agenda of retrieving those production jobs.

“We also have to make sure that we start insisting on making more and more and more right now here in Pennsylvania and in America,” Fetterman said.

In addition, Fetterman vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare from Republican threats. Democratic candidates have begun speaking more about the popular social insurance programs in recent weeks as top Republicans, including House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), have discussed their plans to use debt-ceiling negotiations to force spending cuts that could affect the two programs.

“I can’t believe the other side would consider cutting that or weakening it, but to me those are pillars of American society, and I will be there to stand and support it and strengthen it at every juncture,” he said.

Fetterman reiterated his call to raise the minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour in Pennsylvania. He noted that, in his televised debate with Oz, the Republican candidate “refused to commit” to raising the wage.

And finally, Fetterman found a way to make light of his survival of a stroke and connect it to the fight for universal health care.

“I think it’s a basic, fundamental human right. I’ve really found it really useful!” Fetterman said, prompting laughs from the crowd.

“The same things that were available that saved my life should be for every one of us,” he added. “We need to make sure that we expand that so every American has health care access in this nation.”

With one or more Democratic senators likely to lose their seats on Tuesday, Democratic control of the Senate could depend on Fetterman’s ability to flip a GOP-held seat due to be vacated by retiring Sen. Pat Toomey.

Leading Democrats have been acting accordingly, treating Fetterman’s race as a priority. Over the weekend, Fetterman campaigned alongside President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro, who is expected to handily win his race against Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano.

Democratic House candidates in metropolitan Pittsburgh and Philadelphia could also be beneficiaries of a strong Fetterman showing. One of those candidates is Chris DeLuzio, an Iraq War veteran and cybersecurity lawyer, running to succeed retiring Rep. Conor Lamb (D) in a suburban Pittsburgh seat that Biden carried by just over 5 percentage points.

DeLuzio drew a parallel between his opponent Jeremy Shaffer, an infrastructure company executive, and Oz.

“These guys are going to be yes-men for the corporate jag-offs who’ve been ripping us off and shipping our jobs overseas,” he said, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

But just hours before voters head to the polls, Fetterman is locked in a neck-and-neck race with Oz, who trailed Fetterman by a significant margin in public polls over the summer.

Oz and his allies have employed a two-pronged strategy to erase Fetterman’s lead. First, they have sought to depict Fetterman as an “extreme” figure whose advocacy for providing criminals clemency while serving as chair of the state board of pardons threatened Pennsylvanians’ safety.

To dispel this claim, Fetterman has enlisted support from law enforcement officials, such as Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny, who note that Fetterman rarely recommended pardons or sentence commutations that did not also have the support of the law enforcement representative on the board. But Oz’s attacks have clearly dampened Fetterman’s standing in the polls.

Second, Oz has run ads casting himself as a moderate Republican who will seek compromise and “balance” in Washington. “I’m the candidate for change,” Oz declared during the debate.

The latter part of Oz’s pitch appears to be at odds with his close relationship to former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement played a critical role in his win in the Republican primary. Oz joined Trump and far-right gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano at a rally in southwestern Pennsylvania on Saturday night.

Fetterman tried to use Oz’s association with Mastriano against him at the Monday night rally.

“You cannot stand on stage with a stronger opponent of abortion rights than Doug Mastriano,” he said.

By contrast, he noted, no candidate on the Democratic side doubts the validity of the 2020 presidential election or participated, as Mastriano did, in the election denial rally on Jan. 6, 2021, that led to the U.S. Capitol riot.

“How refreshing to have a ticket [that is] 100% sedition-free!” Fetterman joked.

Fetterman holds up an Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters flag as he begins his speech Monday at a Carpenters Union Hall in Pittsburgh. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

It remains to be seen whether Fetterman is capable of swaying enough centrist voters to surpass Oz. The support of building trades unions like the Carpenters Union, which is known to have many moderate and conservative members, could prove critical in this regard.

Jon Menefee, a Pittsburgh resident completing his union apprenticeship, made calls for Fetterman after a day of training and then attended the rally to hear him speak. He tells his more conservative friends in the union to imagine that electing Republicans could lead Pennsylvania to become more like West Virginia, an anti-union, right-to-work state where workers have lower wages.

“It’s hard enough now. I can’t afford to lose $10 more,” he said. “So I fight for who fights for us.”

Colleen Bixler, a Westmoreland County resident who works for a dental office chain, was previously a Republican and voted for Trump in 2016. She said she has since become disillusioned with Trump and appreciates the work Fetterman did for the town of Braddock when he was mayor.

“I appreciate somebody who’s deciding to take their education and make the community better,” said Bixler, who has appeared in a TV ad for Fetterman. “And he has continued that progress throughout his career.”