Sen. John Fetterman on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The GOP's once sure-fire odds to retain their Senate majority in the midterms are looking bleaker every day, but according to a new report from Politico, some in the party are plotting a "coup" that could save them from a complete wipeout: flipping John Fetterman, the increasingly ostracized Democratic senator.
Fetterman was first elected to the Senate from Pennsylvania in 2022, besting the Trump-backed Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz and helping Democrats defy the odds and grow their majority in the chamber. Initially styling himself as a working-class progressive champion, he has since made a major shift away from his own party, voicing support for various initiatives and nominees from President Donald Trump and breaking the Democratic minority on several key votes.
Now regularly polling as one of the least popular lawmakers with the Democratic base, Fetterman's days in Congress are considered numbered. That is, unless Republicans can pull off their gamble of trying to convince him to become one of them, as laid out on Monday by Politico.
"It’s a few days after the election this November, and the results have become clear: Democrats have netted the four seats they need to claim a Senate majority," Politico's report read. "But then there’s a disturbance in the force: Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump persuade Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) to switch parties or at least become an independent to ensure Republicans retain power in the chamber. It’s a scenario that’s becoming less fantastical by the day."
Fetterman himself has repeatedly dismissed the notion that he might swap parties, noting his record of voting along Democratic lines 93 percent of the time and admitting that he would make for a "sh——y Republican." Despite that, he has also frequently lamented about feeling poorly treated by his Democratic colleagues, and polls show that he has grown increasingly popular with Republican voters.
According to Politico, Trump has pledged complete support for the Pennsylvania senator if he makes the switch to the GOP, offering a full-throated endorsement and substantial monetary resources from the party's warchest.
"A handful of Senate Republicans are also gently feeling out Fetterman and responding to his concerns over the prospect of defecting from the Democratic Party, multiple high-level GOP officials tell me," Politico's Jonathan Martin explained. "If Fetterman does flip, according to officials who were given anonymity to talk about sensitive matters, it will be thanks in large part to his deepening friendship with a pair of senators and their high-profile spouses: Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), and his wife Dina, and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and her husband, Wesley."
Despite his public protestation, Martin claimed that Fetterman is less hostile towards the idea in private.
"When one senior Republican recently brought up the idea of becoming an independent to Fetterman, he absorbed the suggestion and didn’t embrace or reject the overture, according to a GOP official familiar with the conversation," Martin added.
Aside from the fact that he still sincerely holds many liberal values, Fetterman is reportedly also hesitant about the prospect due to Trump's caustic treatment of Republicans who break with him on key issues, something the senator is likely to do often.
"If Republicans can’t tolerate even Tillis, Fetterman suggested, how would they accept somebody who supports abortion rights, gay rights, legalizing marijuana and is pro-labor? (He flies the pride flag outside his Senate office.) Senate Republicans have reminded the Pennsylvanian that there are members of their conference who are more moderate on each of those issues," Martin wrote.