Conor Lamb

Were the recent primaries in Pennsylvania and Oregon vindicating victories for radical progressives — or merely the ominous first ripples of an incoming November red wave? Like almost everything nowadays, it depends on who you ask. Unlike the Republican race between Dave McCormick and Dr. Oz, the Democratic Senate primary was not a nail-biter: Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman handily beat Representative Conor Lamb. Fetterman, who billed himself as a “Democrat with a backbone,” endorsed Bernie Sanders for president in 2016. His stances on certain issues, including his defense of fracking, do not check off all of the perfect progressive boxes.

News stories covering the primary races for Pennsylvania's US Senate seat generally go like this: Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman is the Democratic frontrunner pulling ahead big time; now let’s talk about the tit-for-tat attack ads between Republicans Dr. Oz and Dave McCormick for twelve paragraphs. Sure, the Republican primary is developing every day, as Oz and McCormick exchange polling leads faster than Kyle Busch and Kyle Harvick. But at the end of the day (on May 17), GOP voters will have one of two, nice-looking, middle-aged, super-rich Trump wannabes representing them. What happens after the primary is where things really get interesting. Fetterman stands around six feet, eight inches tall and frowns a lot.