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Democrats want to take the Senate majority, but John Fetterman is raising some serious concerns.

Democrats are growing increasingly confident they can flip the Senate come November—but they are afraid that one of their own senators could get in the way.

Multiple Democratic strategists have told the Daily Beast that while Democrats technically need to flip four seats to take control of the Senate in the midterms, they firmly believe they actually need five, thanks to John Fetterman.

It comes as a bombshell report in the Wall Street Journal late Thursday argued that the first-term Democratic senator has shown little interest in the actual work.

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The report detailed how Fetterman canceled a meeting with three paralyzed military veterans who traveled to Washington, D.C., telling his staff he did not feel well, only to show up less than an hour later for an interview on Fox News. In another example, Fetterman pushed back on meeting with officials from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and even suggested they just wanted free trips to the nation’s capital.

Heading into the midterms, the Pennsylvania senator has repeatedly blasted Democrats on the far left and bucked the party, ratcheting up concerns about what his plans are after the election.

While Fetterman has largely stuck with Democrats when it comes to Senate votes since Donald Trump took power, he has broken with the party on numerous occasions, particularly when it comes to government funding and the war in Iran.

Fetterman, elected in 2022, has denied speculation that he would switch parties to become a Republican, but Democrats have grown increasingly worried about him abandoning the party.

His growing appetite for appearing on Fox News and an unusual joint fundraising committee with GOP Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick is making them sweat, as is the idea that he could be the crucial swing vote starting next year.

Democrats hold 47 seats to Republicans’ 53. They need to flip four seats to avoid a 50-50 Senate split, with Vice President JD Vance holding the tie-breaking vote. But some Democrats believe flipping five seats is key so the party does not need to rely on Fetterman.

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Democrats have focused largely on flipping seats in the competitive races in Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio while looking to hold onto the seats in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire. But they’ve also become increasingly bullish in Iowa and Texas as the races in the Trump-won states have shifted to “toss-ups.”

The fallout among Democrats after the WSJ story dropped on Thursday was fast and furious.

A new account titled “Former Fetterman Staffers,” claiming to be his former campaign and Senate staffers, popped up on X,

“If you were troubled by yesterday’s Wall Street Journal story... trust us, that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” they wrote in a post. “It’s even worse than you thought.”

The account vowed to start dropping more Fetterman stories when the Senate returns September 14.

As some Democrats in Pennsylvania vent about being betrayed by the senator they elected just four years ago, the Daily Beast has learned there is a growing sense in the state that Fetterman does not want a second term after 2028, never mind the increasing likelihood that if he ran again, he would be primaried.

But some do not even want him to remain the full six years. Fetterman’s Democratic primary opponent in the 2022 Senate race, former Rep. Conor Lamb, went so far as to call on the senator to step down in response to the WSJ story.

“John, @SenFettermanPA if there is a decent bone left in your body, just quit. It’s an insult to decent people in our state for you to treat them and the office this way,” he wrote on X.

If the senator resigns, Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro would appoint his replacement until a special election could be held in the deep purple state.

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