John Fetterman is leading Pennsylvania’s Senate primary by double digits, according to a new poll released Thursday, a sign that the self-identified populist is sustaining the momentum he’s enjoyed for much of the race.
Fetterman earned 33.4 percent of support from Democratic primary voters in a new poll from The Hill and Emerson College.
His closest competitors, Rep. Conor Lamb (D) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D), each earned 10 percent and 7.6 percent support respectively.
As lieutenant governor, Fetterman has considerably more statewide recognition than Lamb, who is a veteran representing suburban Pittsburgh, and Kenyatta, a state representative and activist from north Philadelphia.
With less than two months before the May 17 primary, however, there’s still time for voters to pick a candidate to back. Notably, more than one third of respondents — 37 percent — are currently undecided about whom to support against a not-yet-determined Republican nominee, according to the survey.
Pennsylvania is one of a handful of battlegrounds that will help determine which party takes power of the Senate in November.
Democrats have their sights on the state that both President Biden and former President Trump each narrowly won in 2020 and 2016, respectively. They see it as a chance to secure a critical Democratic win ahead of 2024.
During the unusually tame primary, Fetterman has run slightly to the left of Lamb. He has embraced popular policy positions like legalizing marijuana, which Lamb is against, and has shunned corporate campaign contributions, an important litmus test for many progressives. But he has also declined to back more divisive stances like defunding the police and banning fracking.
The poll was taken between March 26-28 with a sample of 471 Democratic primary voters and a margin of error of 4.5 percent.