In PA, Fetterman and McCormick just did something almost unheard of in politics
(The Center Square) – U. S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick may be on opposite sides of the aisle, but their campaigns have teamed up to create a joint fundraising committee. First spotted byPoliticoon. . .
(The Center Square) – U. S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick may be on opposite sides of the aisle, but their campaigns have teamed up to create a joint fundraising committee. First spotted byPoliticoon Wednesday, Common Ground PA was announced as a new joint fundraising committee. Common Ground PAfiled with the Federal Election Commission, known as the FEC, on Monday. They list four joint fundraising participants: Every Vote PAC, Pennsylvania Honor, Fetterman for PA, and Friends of Dave McCormick. Fetterman is listed as the leadership PAC sponsor forEvery Vote PAC, while McCormick is named as the leadership PAC sponsor forPennsylvania Honor. And, as stated in the names of the campaign committee,Fetterman for PAis the principal campaign committee for Fetterman, asFriends of Dave McCormickplays the same role for McCormick’s campaign. The Center Square contacted the Fetterman and McCormick campaigns on Wednesday to ask why they decided to team up and who they hope to help with it. “This is a donor driven effort,” Mike DeVanney, a McCormick campaign spokesman, said to The Center Square. “This group of donors value the collaboration exhibited by Senators McCormick and Fetterman for Pennsylvania and want to support both of them. ”Fetterman’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. OpenSecrets, a non-partisan watchdog organization, says that joint fundraising committees can be created by two or more candidates, PACs or party committees to share the costs of fundraising, and split the proceeds. Christopher Nicholas, a longtime GOP consultant and publisher of thePA Political Digest, found the creation of Common Ground PA by Fetterman and McCormick’s campaigns to be noteworthy. “This would seem to be a very intriguing development, and a further sign of the close coordination on not just policy, but now political issues between Senators McCormick and Fetterman,” Nicholas said to The Center Square. “What most is of interest to me now is who do they want to support through this new joint fundraising committee?”Nicholas said he's never seen elected officials from opposite sides of the aisle in Pennsylvania join forces to create a joint fundraising committee. Despite being members of different parties, Fetterman and McCormick have worked together on several issues andhave described each other as good friends. Last Monday, the two made a rare joint appearance in Philadelphia toencourage Pennsylvania families to enroll their children into Trump accounts. While theytout their friendship and working relationshipnow, that was not the case just a few years ago. Following his razor-thin loss to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 GOP primary for U. S. Senate, McCormick encouraged his supporters to back the Republican nominee over Fetterman, who was representing the Democratic Party. McCormick evendonated the maximum allowed under lawto Oz for the general election,Politicoreported in 2022. During the 2024 race,Fetterman campaigned in support of then-U. S. Sen. Bob Casey’sbid for a fourth term over McCormick. DuringCasey’s farewell speechto the Senate in December 2024, following his loss to McCormick, Fetterman called Casey “Pennsylvania’s best senator. ”Since the beginning of Trump’s second term, Fetterman has found himself at odds with his party over his stance on a number of issues, including being theonly Democrat who voted to confirm severalof the president’s cabinet nominations, backing portions of the administration’simmigration enforcement, and supporting theU. S. war with Iran. Pennsylvania Republican Party ChairmanGreg Rothman even told The Center Squarein April that he wouldn’t rule out supporting Fetterman in 2028 for U. S. Senate if he changed parties. However,Fetterman penned an op-ed in the Washington Postin May saying that he would not do so. “Being an independent voice that works with the other side to deliver for Pennsylvanians might put me at odds with the party that I have stayed committed to and have no plans to leave — but I will continue to put the commonwealth and the country first,”Fetterman wrote. “Plus, I’d be a terrible Republican who still votes overwhelmingly with Democrats. ”The Pennsylvania Democratic and Republican Party did not respond to a request for comment about this new joint committee. LOOK: Highest-rated things to do in Philadelphia, according to TripadvisorStackercompiled a list of the highest-rated things to do in Philadelphia using data from Tripadvisor. Gallery Credit: StackerThe Center Squareis a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation. We engage readers with essential news, data and analysis – delivered with velocity, frequency and consistency. If you would like to read the original article,click here.