A Tale of Two Campaigns (Fetterman and Walker)

I don’t typically write about campaigns, especially Democratic campaigns, but I’m fascinated by John Fetterman’s press blitz this past week. Given that polls in the race have tightened, it makes sense for Fetterman to proactively reassure Pennsylvania voters that he’s healthy enough to serve as their US Senator (even if he shouldn’t have to), but the way his campaign has gone about it feels different.

It started with a profile in New York Magazine from Rebecca Traister. The Vulnerability of John Fetterman. Vulnerability is not a word most campaigns would want associated with their candidate, especially less than a month from Election Day. But Fetterman is clearly leaning into it. In interviews with Traister, Kara Swisher, and NBC news, Fetterman was open about his recovery and the ways he’s had to adapt since the stroke. As Traister wrote, “Fetterman is banking on the hope that voters will see in his vulnerability a new way to appreciate his strength.”

This is not the campaign closing argument Fetterman would have made had the stroke not happened. His alpha-dog persona and the way he presented masculinity was his superpower against the masculinity-obsessed MAGA machine. And it was particularly effective against his opponent, daytime TV celebrity Mehmet Oz, who had trouble landing effective attacks. But I think Fetterman’s Brené Brown…