When the state’s deadline for candidates to file nominating petitions hit on Tuesday evening, it also revealed that several prominent Democrats in Pennsylvania — some of whom had previously been silent about their presidential preferences — had to pledge to candidates if they wanted to represent them at this summer’s national nominating convention.
Among those filing to be delegates were Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, County Controller Chelsa Wagner, State Rep. Austin Davis and Pennsylvania second lady Gisele Barreto Fetterman, who, in interviews Wednesday morning with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, revealed who they’re supporting in the crowded Democratic field.
Mr. Fitzgerald and Mr. Davis pledged their support to former Vice President Joe Biden, citing his electability and ability to connect with working class moderates in Western Pennsylvania. Ms. Wagner and Ms. Fetterman are lining up behind Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom they deemed the right candidate to bring the country together while unapologetically fighting for structural change.
The four — along with many others — filed their petitions to secure spots on the April 28 primary ballot as district-level delegates, which are pledged to specific candidates but may only get to represent them at the Democratic National Convention if their choice does well enough in the primary here.
Mr. Fitzgerald, who hadn’t publicly endorsed a candidate, said he was between Mr. Biden, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, but chose the former vice president because of his record. His priority, he said, was to choose a candidate who could appeal to Western Pennsylvanians.
“To win the White House — and I’ve said this all along — you have to do well and win Western Pennsylvania,” Mr. Fitzgerald said. “We can only do that with a moderate candidate.”
Nominating a “socialist,” he said, would lead to electoral disaster for Democrats in an area key to beating Donald Trump in November.
“That is my fear: that we nominate someone so far left that we can’t win the moderate voter in Western Pennsylvania,” Mr. Fitzgerald said, adding that “if we nominate a socialist, we might as well just give Donald Trump another term because he’s going to win.”
State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, said he thinks Mr. Biden understands the struggles of working class families in the Mon Valley, and has the background to “build an economy that works for everyone” and expand health care coverage by building on the Affordable Care Act.
“I think given his experience, he’s the best candidate to deliver real results,” Mr. Davis said.
Mr. Biden’s camp has been courting the Mon Valley state lawmaker’s support for a few months now, Mr. Davis acknowledged. He said the vice president’s performance in the first two primaries — a fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses and fifth place in New Hampshire — don’t worry him, and that states more representative of the U.S. population as a whole will boost him back up.
Ms. Fetterman, founder of the Braddock-based Free Store 15104 and wife of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, pledged to Ms. Warren because she’s a “unity candidate” who can bring structural change.
“I spent years working on equity and starting nonprofits to meet these needs that — in many cases — could have been helped by structural change,” Ms. Fetterman said.
No matter the nominee, Ms. Fetterman said, she’ll work “vigorously” for them. She was a delegate in 2016 for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, which she described as a “very emotional moment” representing Pennsylvania as a formerly undocumented immigrant.
This time, Ms. Fetterman wanted to “work hard for someone else,” so she chose Ms. Warren.
Ms. Wagner said she’s always been inspired by Ms. Warren’s tenure in the Senate.
“I think she’s bold, and she’s authentic, in an era where we are battling so much money in politics,” Ms. Wagner said. “I think that she is somebody who people can relate to, but also somebody who really stands for something.”
Ms. Wagner, who has been to every convention since she entered politics, said she envisions Democrats heading to this year’s DNC without knowing a clear winner.
Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1952, Twitter @julianrouth.
First Published: February 19, 2020, 4:17 p.m.