John Fetterman served as the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, for 13 years before he became Lieutenant Governor of the state in 2019. He currently holds the title of Pennsylvania senator-elect until he is inaugurated to the 118th United State Congress in January 2023. He first sought public office as mayor of Baddock, where he served from 2006 until 2019. His higher education includes an MBA from the University of Connecticut, and he previously studied finance at Albright College. Fetterman also earned a Master's degree in Publicly Policy from Harvard University while serving in the AmeriCorps.
Fetterman's policies and political philosophy have been closely associated with progressive Democratic politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. As mayor of Braddock, Fetterman tried revitalizing the town through progressive economic policy and youth group investments. In 2016, Fetterman ran unsuccessfully for Pennsylvania's Senate seat but lost in the Democratic primary.
However, two years later, he successfully won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of the state before winning the general election alongside incumbent Governor Tom Wolf. In 2008, Fetterman married Brazilian-American activist Gisele Barrette Fetterman, who illegally immigrated to the United States. The couple has three children together, two daughters and a son. Gisele campaigned with her husband during his Senate run against former reality tv host Dr. Mehmet Oz.
When Fetterman announced his candidacy for the second time for the US Senate in 2021, he won the primary by 59% of the vote. He went on to defeat Oz with 50.94% of the vote in the general election during the November 8 midterm race, according to the Fox News Decision Desk. Fetterman is a supporter of raising the federal minimum wage and legalizing the sale and use of cannabis.