Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday declined to say whether he would support Sen. John Fetterman if he runs for reelection in 2028, the latest twist in a fraught relationship between Pennnsylvania’s two most prominent Democrats.
“John will decide if he’s going to run for reelection. I appreciate his service,” Shapiro said before quickly pivoting, when asked whether Fetterman is “someone that you admire and would support for reelection” at a Christian Science Monitor press event in Washington.
Asked point-blank whether he liked Fetterman, Shapiro replied: “Of course. And we all work together to do good things for the people of Pennsylvania.”
Fetterman has not yet said whether he will seek reelection in 2028. But progressives are already plotting a primary challenge to him over his centrist congressional voting record that’s seen him cross party lines to support some of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, give full-throated support for Israel and repeatedly buck Democrats during shutdown fights.
The relationship between the top Pennsylvania Democrats and stylistic opposites has long been strained, though Fetterman has been much more public about his disdain for Shapiro than the other direction.
Fetterman, in his 2025 memoir, criticized Shapiro for acting out of “political ambition” and wrote that he was caught on a hot mic calling Shapiro a “fucking asshole” during a Zoom meeting while serving together on the state’s pardon board. Fetterman wrote he wished Shapiro the best — but claimed the two “no longer speak.”
Shapiro refuted that Thursday, saying “yes” the two are on speaking terms, adding that they were in a meeting together with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy “a few weeks ago … working on an important issue in Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro makes just two mentions of Fetterman in his own memoir, “Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service,” which was released this week — both just passing mentions of the two being at the same political events. He notes the two spoke backstage at an Erie Democratic dinner days before Fetterman’s stroke.
A representative for Fetterman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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