PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania’s Democratic Senate primary began for real over the last few days.
For months, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has loomed over the contest, along with a pivotal question: How firm is the front-runner’s support? Now we’ll start to find out the answer, in a sprint toward the May 17 primary, after a series of attacks by his Democratic rivals.
Fetterman’s opponents have argued — and his Democratic critics have feared — that his consistent lead is mainly due to his relative political fame, and that he would falter once his weaknesses were exposed, either in the primary or against Republicans in the fall. They’ve accused him of trying to mask those flaws by avoiding tough scrutiny.
