A Pennsylvania socialist on Monday launched a campaign to oust Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) in the 2028 elections, marking growing discontent within the Democratic Party.
Ahmed Moor’s announcement and campaign website outlined positions on Israel that put him in stark contrast to Fetterman, whose staunch support for the Middle East’s only democracy is a key reason for the rising opposition to the Democratic senator from his own party.
Moor, the first candidate to challenge Fetterman, accused Israel of committing genocide in its war against Hamas terrorists operating in Gaza, where the socialist candidate was born. His campaign platform calls for “free healthcare,” abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, overhauling housing and tax laws, ending the war in Iran, and targeting the White House’s tariffs. Moor has also demanded a moratorium on data centers in Pennsylvania.
A survey of Moor’s recent posts to X indicates a focus on anti-Zionist views, or the belief that the Jewish people have the right to a state. He recently urged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to “break with Israel,” claimed Israel is committing “apartheid” in Gaza, which he calls Palestine, and called for comprehensive sanctions on Israel. In his capacity as a journalist and writer, Moor has advocated against the Jewish people having their own state, marking opposition to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians.
“Jewish supremacy in Palestine is on its way out,” Moor wrote in a Nov. 4 post.
“We are on the verge of a dramatic break with Israel,” he wrote in an Oct. 31 post.
Fetterman has not yet formally announced a bid for reelection in 2028.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-PA) has expressed a level of support for Fetterman, urging the senator to remain in the Democratic Party. But Moor’s candidacy embodies rising opposition to Fetterman from Democrats to the left of Schumer, due to the incumbent lawmaker’s support for Israel. Fetterman has vowed to remain a Democrat, noting he mostly votes with his party, but has said he could leave it if it ever “officially” becomes an “anti-Israel” party.
“My values have not changed, and I have always turned to those kinds of ideals that defined being a Democrat. I remain strongly pro-choice, pro-weed, pro-LGBT, pro-SNAP, pro-labor and even pro-rib-eye over bio slop,” Fetterman wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post in May. “Once-common views have become increasingly toxic in the Democratic Party, a result of catering to the fringe and agitated parts of our base. The party is fractured by their demands.”
Moor is a writer and journalist who edited the book After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine. He is a member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
He was born in Rafah, Gaza, and moved to Pennsylvania as a child. He lived in Ramallah in the West Bank for three years before leaving in 2000, according to the American Bazaar. He later lived in Jordan for years, before moving back to Philadelphia to raise his family in 2021.
Democrats say Moor is unlikely to be the only challenger to Fetterman. Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) said Sunday he expected “a robust primary challenge” to the Democratic senator, saying “there’s no question that people are lining up to run.”
“I’m pretty confident that you’ll see some bigger, mainstream kind of names [than Moor], involved,” Mike Weidinger, a veteran Lancaster County Democrat with statewide connections, told the Guardian, citing Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta as likely challengers.
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Schumer said over the summer he hoped Fetterman would remain a Democratic senator.
“The people in our caucus very much like him and respect him,” he told the New York Times, noting Fetterman’s backing of most Democratic initiatives. “And we’re a big-tent party; we can have a lot of different views in that party.”