Sen. John Fetterman blasted the Democratic Party’s far-left wing after a string of socialist-backed candidates scored victories in New York’s congressional primaries Tuesday, warning that the movement is pushing the party further away from mainstream voters.
The Pennsylvania Democrat accused the “dirt bag Left” of celebrating candidates whose positions he said are far outside the political mainstream.
“It’s just been the dancing days of the dirt bag Left with some of these candidates are outrageous,” Fetterman told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “You have candidates they [want to] abolish ICE, abolish the police, abolish the border.”
Fetterman’s comments came as candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani notched a series of primary wins.
Far-left Democrats Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier both declared victory in their respective races. Avila Chevalier has described herself as a “prison abolitionist” and has opposed deportations of illegal immigrants.
“A lot of these candidates that very likely are going to win tonight, just declaring a war on just regular Democrats,” Fetterman said.
The senator went on to argue that openly socialist and even communist viewpoints are gaining traction within parts of the Democratic coalition.
“They’re all socialists, of course, and now there’s a communist and now a Marxist,” he said. “We have P-Hustle in Maine. You know, that’s another one. He’s a self-avowed communist, too. Well, that’s not even looked down on, and it’s a significant part of the Democratic Party right now.”
“P-Hustle” was a username previously used online by Maine Democratic nominee Graham Platner, whose past social media posts included anti-Christian, vulgar and sexually explicit comments.
Tuesday’s primary results also produced an upset in Manhattan, where former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman, adding to a night that highlighted the growing influence of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.
Fetterman, who has frequently broken with members of his party on issues ranging from immigration to Israel, warned that embracing increasingly left-wing candidates could make Democrats less competitive with voters outside deep-blue districts.
“The party is becoming increasingly out of step with the American people,” he said.
Watch the clip above.
