Mandela Barnes appears at a rally outside the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (right) on July 23, 2022.
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In his first run for the Senate in 2016, Fetterman backed a moratorium on new fracking. He now opposes a ban on fracking, a controversial method for extracting natural gas. Tens of thousands of Pennsylvania jobs are dependent on fracking. For his part, Barnes, who was once photographed holding an “Abolish ICE” T-shirt, said he does not support eliminating Immigration and Customs Enforcement or defunding police.

Barnes’ campaign has been careful to also point out that, along with a nod from Sanders, he has won endorsements from more establishment Democrats, such as House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn. Fetterman’s team has likewise noted that while he endorsed Sanders in 2016 and Sanders campaigned for him in his 2018 bid for lieutenant governor, he did not support him in the 2020 primary.

Max Berger, former director of progressive outreach for Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign, said he doesn’t mind that Fetterman and Barnes have put space between themselves and the “progressive” label.

“It’s smart for progressives to not limit themselves to being a slice of the party but to claim to speak on behalf of the party as a whole,” he said. “I think it’s one of my favorite things about both these guys — is that they don’t want to be small. They’re like, ‘I represent the entire Democratic Party.'”

If either is successful, Berger said he will still consider it a major victory for the left: “It’s a huge opportunity for progressives to show that we can be part of making sure Democrats are in the majority.”