Gaza-born Ahmed Moor to challenge Senator Fetterman in Democratic primary

Ahmed Moor, a 42-year-old Palestinian-American writer and businessman born in Gaza, has announced he will challenge Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania in the party primary.

In a post on X, Moor said he wants to defeat Fetterman and win the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2028 election. Fetterman's seat will be up for re-election in 2028.

Moor wrote, 'I'm running to end the war in Iran and to promote the dignity agenda: free healthcare, free childcare, and affordable housing.' He called for accountability for genocide, for ICE and for corruption, and for the protection of civil liberties in America.

Moor told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he was 'not really running against Fetterman' — 'I'm running for good government. I'm running for the rule of law. I'm running because I believe in America.'

Moor was born in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza. He moved to Pennsylvania as a child. He earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. After working in finance, he moved into journalism. Before launching his campaign, he lived in Jordan; he later returned to Philadelphia with his wife to raise their children. He has also written for the Guardian.

His campaign website sharply criticises US foreign aid to Israel. It says, 'A few years ago my birthplace was turned to rubble in a genocide funded by our tax dollars.'

Fetterman has drawn the anger of the party's left wing over his staunch support for Israel and his willingness to agree with President Donald Trump on some issues. Trump has praised him as 'a great guy' and said he would like to see Fetterman become a Republican.

In the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, about 1,200 people were killed in Israel. In Israel's military response, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children.

Fetterman has said he has no intention of leaving the Democratic Party. But last July he said that if the party officially became anti-Israel, that would be his 'red line'. The Inquirer reported that he has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu more often than Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker.

Moor's announcement comes at a time when the Democrats regained control of the Senate in last week's midterm elections, winning at least 54 of the upper chamber's 100 seats. With Fetterman's vote no longer decisive, Democratic strategists' worries have eased.

Fetterman won the 2022 midterm election campaigning as a progressive outsider. But many Pennsylvania Democrats have since been disappointed by the change in his positions. Last September, in a video message sent to the Republicans' midterm convention in Texas, he praised Pennsylvania's Republican Senator Dave McCormick.

Democrats say Moor will not be Fetterman's only challenger. Mike Weidinger, a veteran Democrat from Lancaster County, said bigger mainstream names could also run, including Chris Deluzio, a representative from the Pittsburgh area, and Malcolm Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state legislator.

In Weidinger's words, people generally think Fetterman either misrepresented himself when he first ran, or changed completely. He complained that while many people worked hard last week for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania, including Governor Josh Shapiro, Fetterman did not spend a penny or do a thing for a single candidate. On the question of switching parties, Weidinger said, 'If he wants to switch, he can switch. If it would have been 51 to 49, it would have mattered. But it doesn't matter now.'

Fetterman has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election. His office has been asked for comment.