Will Fetterman Endorse Shapiro This Year?

Much has been written about the likelihood of Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsing embattled Democratic U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s potential re-election come 2028. But a more pressing question presents itself right now: will our always-newsy senior Senator endorse Shapiro’s re-election race that’s underway now?

Would Shapiro value and/or accept such a nod?

Our political geography is often defined by our highways – the Turnpike, the Schuylkill, and Mon Fayette expressways. During this tough winter, perhaps the most treacherous road in the Commonwealth has been the icy stretch between the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg and a converted car dealership in Allegheny County’s Braddock – home to Fetterman.

As our 2026 gubernatorial cycle shifts into second gear, the question haunting Pennsylvania Democrats isn’t about polling or fundraising; it’s whether Fetterman will offer even a perfunctory endorsement of Shapiro’s re-election race to protect and project party unity.

To understand the “cold war” currently freezing the state’s Democratic heavyweights – the only two statewide elected Democrats – it’s helpful to review a little-known agency, the state Board of Pardons, which Fetterman ran as lieutenant governor.

In his memoir, Unfettered, Fetterman details a fundamental friction with Shapiro over the board’s role in commutations and pardons. He viewed Shapiro, then the Attorney General, as a rigid institutionalist too focused on the potential political blow back on any decision.

This wasn’t just a disagreement over policy; it was a collision of personalities that has only hardened as both men ascended to higher office: Shapiro to governor and Fetterman to Senator. Fetterman publicly torched Shapiro in the summer of 2024 when then-Vice President Kamala Harris was vetting running mates.

Today, Fetterman is the Senate’s chief (hoodie-clad) iconoclast, more popular with the state’s Republicans than with members of his own party.

He’s traded the progressive “Bernie-wing” rhetoric for a “reasonable guy” brand, frequently siding with Republicans on war powers and issues pertaining to Israel and the Middle East. For a governor like Shapiro – famous for running a more disciplined, “Get Shit Done” (GSD) operation that prizes order and efficiency – having a “maverick” like Fetterman on the campaign trail is the political equivalent of bringing a flamethrower to a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

If Fetterman stays on the sidelines, the GOP will attempt to use his growing support of, and defense of, President Trump as a lever to attack and marginalize Shapiro. Unlike state Democrats, the Pennsylvania GOP is totally united behind their nominee for governor, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

While the GOP sells its unity ticket, the Democrats are left trying to manage a tense coexistence between two officeholders who obviously and publicly do not care for each other. It’s sure to be giving newish state Democratic Party chair Eugene DePasquale a headache.

How galling it must be to Fetterman that he takes such grief for his strong support of Israel while Shapiro, who shares most if not all of the Senator’s pro-Israel views, skates on this with the state’s Democratic voters – and is much more popular with them.

When asked recently if he would endorse Fetterman’s 2028 re-election, Shapiro’s icy retort (“Well, he has to decide if he’s seeking re-election, that’s not for another cycle”) told you everything you need to know about their relationship. No wonder it’s easy to believe those published reports which insist the two do not even talk to each other.

Note that the politically adroit Shapiro did not turn that question around and ask for, or declare, Fetterman’s support of his current re-election race.

So, what’s the play? Fetterman knows a primary challenge from the left in 2028 looms and that speculation is rife that he could seek re-election as an Independent, as many base Democrats feel betrayed by him – and online Democrats loathe him.

Supporting Shapiro could be seen as “Maverick Insurance” – a way to stay tethered to the party just enough to avoid a total mutiny. Has Fetterman broached this idea with party leaders such as DePasquale? Have they queried the subject with Fetterman? Does Shapiro believe he needs any help this year?

Is a joint fall bus tour through rural Pennsylvania in their future?

Would Fetterman just go off and endorse the governor without coordinating it first? That would be OG John Fetterman, wouldn’t it? But would Shapiro even accept it?

Once again, Pennsylvania politics continues to be fascinating and squarely in the center ring of our never-ending political carnival.