Popular small-town mayor to wade into Pa. Dem Senate primary

A suburban Pittsburgh-area mayor will reportedly jump into the increasingly crowded Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary on Monday.

And he’s bringing tacos. 

{mosads}“No one wants to listen to politicians, but everyone wants to eat tacos. Tacos are the great uniter,” Braddock, Pa., Mayor John Fetterman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday as he confirmed his announcement.

He added that he’ll formally declare his candidacy at his home Monday morning — with the Pittsburgh Taco Truck serving snacks outside. 

Fetterman, whom the Associated Press referred to as a “6-foot-8, bald, tattooed, Harvard-educated mayor,” has been the chief executive of the small steel town since 2005.

And he’s no stranger to publicity. He mixed it up with former Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert in 2009 and has been profiled by numerous national news outlets for his work revitalizing the town.   

He’ll fight for the right to take on Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) in what’s expected to be a battleground election for control for the Senate. 

Former Rep. Joe Sestak began the election cycle as the sole major Democratic candidate as he sought a rematch against Toomey, who narrowly defeated him in 2010. But some Democrats wavered, questioning his ability to help the party flip the seat. That prompted Katie McGinty to leave her post as Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) chief of staff and mount her own bid.

Sestak has about $2.3 million on hand, a substantial initial fundraising advantage over both McGinty and Fetterman, while Toomey trumps them all with about $8.3 million on hand after the second fundraising quarter, which ended in June.