This time, people in line were waiting to see Democratic Senate candidate John Fetterman, who on Saturday afternoon held a campaign rally in a predominantly black neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia, his first public visit to the city since the start of the campaign. of his candidacy in February 2021. Fetterman has focused much of his candidacy’s appeal on his ability to attract voters in more conservative parts of the state, where white working-class voters have migrated to Republicans in recent years. As he works to woo those voters, it remained unclear whether black voters — a critical voting block for any Democrat to win statewide in Pennsylvania — would favor Fetterman, particularly in vote-rich Philadelphia. Gardner, 55, and his next-door neighbor, Ronald Lamb, 52, who are both black, have “Fetterman for Senate” signs in their windows. “I like John Fetterman because he’s one of us,” Gardner said. “He stands for what I stand for,” Lamb added. Donna Bess, 56, standing at the stoop with Gardner and Lamb, showed a photo of Fetterman plastered on the side of a black truck selling campaign merchandise. “Look at how he dresses,” she said, referring to his trademark oversized sweatshirts. “He’s one of us.” During the Democratic primary, Fetterman’s challengers tried to convince black voters that he was not one of them. They have been an incident since 2013, when Fetterman, then mayor of the predominantly black Pittsburgh suburb of Braddock, chased down an unarmed black jogger, whom he suspected of shooting. Fetterman, who was armed with a shotgun, detained the man until police arrived. Fetterman insisted he did not know the race of the person he was chasing. This month, a super PAC supporting Fetterman’s opponent, Republican Mehmet Oz, revisited the incident with a 30-second television ad intended to make black voters doubt the Democrat. But in interviews with a dozen Black leaders, strategists and voters in Philadelphia, no one mentioned the nine-year story. Even state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, who raised the issue when he ran against Fetterman in the primary and apologized, said he doesn’t care to look back. He criticized Oz and his allies for setting it up. “He’s just throwing everything he can throw out,” said Kenyatta, who is black. “He has no business talking about the black community. “What frustrates me is you can’t tell me you care about gun crime in this community and then oppose all the things that will actually deal with crime,” Kenyatta said, referring to the GOP’s opposition to gun control weapons. “This is not a message to black people, this is a message to scare white people about black communities.” Earlier this week, Oz held a roundtable with Black Philadelphians and protested the “Strike Plan for Black Communities,” which includes support for criminal justice laws. Oz and his campaign attacked Fetterman for his work to release wrongly accused people from prison, as well as some non-violent offenders. Oz’s campaign has specifically pointed to Fetterman’s role in the conversion of two brothers serving life sentences for a murder they claimed nearly 30 years did not commit. When they were released, Fetterman hired them to work on his campaign. Those brothers, Lee and Dennis Horton, flanked Fetterman at his rally in Philadelphia, which drew a crowd of 600, roughly evenly split between blacks and whites, to a recreation center gymnasium. Fetterman, still recovering from a near-fatal stroke in May, spoke for just over 12 minutes. He spent much of that time mocking Oz as out of touch with Pennsylvania, bringing laugh lines to the friendly audience. He also touched on overhauling criminal justice laws, protecting access to abortion, child custody and raising the minimum wage as key issues. The Horton brothers, who are black, introduced Fetterman at the rally, first sharing how the Democrat was the first elected official to fight for them. Lee Horton said Fetterman told their sister, “I’m going to fight to get your brothers out even if it means I lose every election after this.” Fetterman, in his remarks, said he knew this would be material for future opponents to use against him, but said, “I would never trade a title for my conscience.” Fetterman leads Oz in the polls, though the race has tightened as both sides have poured money into the race in recent weeks. Democrats see Fetterman as their best chance to win a Senate seat currently held by retiring Republican Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, as they defend other seats across the country. Republicans need to win just one more 50-50 Senate seat to take the majority. Although he had not campaigned in the city during the primary, Fetterman narrowly won Philadelphia, beating Kenyatta and Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), who was a favorite of the Democratic establishment. Several Black Democrats who attended the rally cited abortion and gun violence as issues that motivated them to vote this year. “Fetterman listens to women’s rights because if they take away women’s rights, what other rights do they preserve? Will it be voting rights? It’s already under attack,” said Verhonda Williams, 69, standing in front of the line before the rally. Other voters spoke of Fetterman’s authenticity as driving their enthusiasm for his candidacy. Dana Ancrum, 59, said she would listen to his commercials and think, “maybe he’s the real one.” Asia Whittenberger, 23, and Alyvia Benson, 22, who both did a year with AmeriCorps, said they were excited to vote for Fetterman. “I think, for me, I know I’m a very young voter, but I’ve never had more confidence in a politician in my life or a candidate,” Whittenberger said. After the rally, Denise Smith, 64, stood outside with her brother, John Holmes, 54, and reflected on what they had just been through. “His energy, his optimism, his vibe and his experience of knowing what it takes,” Holmes said when asked why he would endorse Fetterman. “I will support him 100 percent.”
