Republican midterms 'coup' exposed as party quietly pushes to flip key Democrat

2026-05-04 15:47 UTC

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.

Replies (17)

@Sciaphobia@sh.itjust.works 2026-05-04 15:53

This implies Shitterman needs to be flipped.

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@JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2026-05-04 16:09

All it took for him to align with MAGA was brain damage.

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@Alandrus_Sun@ttrpg.network 2026-05-04 18:43

Flip Fetteman? They can have him. Garbage politician that only won his seat because he was against Dr.Oz.

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@EndOfLine@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 15:55

It's not flipping. It's making it publicly official.

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@ceenote@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 16:28

We badly need: 1. Term limits 2. A recall process for all elected officials 3. To abolish the senate

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@inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 2026-05-05 04:03

What's there to flip? He's already voting Republican.

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@Soulphite@reddthat.com 2026-05-04 16:08

He wasn't already flipped? This is news... how? Fetterman is a big fat phony who hit his head one too many times. Brain damage and MAGA go together like flies on shit.

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@jordanlund@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 16:39

35 Senate seats are up for election this year, Fetterman is not one of them. Currently the Senate is 53 Republican, 45 Democratic, 2 Independent. I'd LOVE to see BOTH the House and Senate flip, but if you go race by race, most of these are super safe either D or R. These are state wide elections so gerrymandering does not apply. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elections Interim elections: Florida - Ashley Moody Safe Republican (filling Marco Rubio's seat) Ohio - Jon Husted Safe Republican (filling JD Vance's seat) General elections: Alabama - Tommy Tuberville Safe Republican Alaska - Dan Sullivan Safe Republican Arkansas - Tom Cotton Safe Republican Idaho - Jim Risch Safe Republican Iowa - Joni Ernst Safe Republican Kansas - Roger Marshall Safe Republican Kentucky - Mitch McConnell Safe Republican Louisiana - Bill Cassidy Safe Republican Mississippi - Cindy Hyde-Smith Safe Republican Montana - Steve Daines Safe Republican Nebraska - Pete Ricketts Safe Republican North Carolina - Thom Tillis Safe Republican Oklahoma - Alan S. Armstrong Safe Republican South Carolina - Lindsey Graham Safe Republican South Dakota - Mike Rounds Safe Republican Tennesseee - Bill Hagerty Safe Republican Texas - John Cornyn Safe Republican West Virginia - Shelley Moore Capito Safe Republican Wyoming - Cynthia Lummis Safe Republican Colorado - Dan Hickenlooper Safe Democratic Delaware - Chris Coons Safe Democratic Illinois - Dick Durbin Safe Democratic Massachusetts - Ed Markey Safe Democratic Minnesota - Tina Smith Safe Democratic New Hampshire - Jeanne Shaheen Safe Democratic New Jersey - Corey Booker Safe Democratic New Mexico - Ben Ray Luján Safe Democratic Oregon - Jeff Merkley Safe Democratic Rhode Island - Jack Reed Safe Democratic Virginia - Mark Warner Safe Democratic Georgia - Jon Ossoff - Likely Flip D->R Maine - Susan Collins - Likely Flip R->D Michigan - Gary Peters Democratic Toss Up I'd love to see No Kings get out the vote and flip Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. That would flip the Senate from 53R:45D:2I to 51D:2I:47R. But realistically, looking at the voting history in those states? Aint never gonna happen. Georgia and Maine flip 1:1, and the best case scenario is the Democrats hold Michigan and nothing changes: 53:45:2. Worst case? 54:44:2 and still nothing changes.

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@Formfiller@lemmy.world 2026-05-05 19:15

![](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/cf105acb-ab27-4420-a9ec-302e4dc0287e.jpeg)

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@Red_October@lemmy.world 2026-05-06 06:03

Flipping Fetterman? The brain damage already did that.

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@frustrated_phagocytosis@fedia.io 2026-05-04 16:44

Switching parties is not unheard of and certainly not a coup. Not like he was voting against the GOP much to begin with, so leaving him out of the Dem count won't change much anyway. Just like Manchin and Sinema, they take the DNC money and resources but don't agree with any of the party platform or priorities once the election ends.

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@volore@scribe.disroot.org 2026-05-04 16:00

... implying he doesn't already go along with their bullshit as it is? Cute. Stupid, wrong, but cute.

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@UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 16:20

> quietly Bro, he was on FOX News just last week. The anchorman was just shy of openly fellating him.

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@Iusedtobeanalien@lemmy.world 2026-05-05 19:50

Trumps dictatorship dream is predicated on people voting the same way they did last time I suspect the GOP are in for the shock of their lives

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@TachyonTele@piefed.social 2026-05-04 16:22

What, they're not betting it all on cheating this time or something?

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@Paragone@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 20:01

https://lemmy.world/post/44104254 that post identifies that there are a number of politicians who *don't reason, think, or debate* Netanyahu's "Israel". Their explanation for it is kompromat: blackmail. Their argument is convincing. Please see that Fetterman is described, in there, in a way which does suggest either ideological-possession or kompromat. _ /\ _

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@RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world 2026-05-04 17:07

He won the primary?!?! WTF PA?!?!?!!!!

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