In the rural parts of western Pennsylvania — which is most of western Pennsylvania — the electoral map runs deep red. Donald Trump’s arrival on the national political stage and his shock victory in 2016 hastened a Democratic decline that had been in motion for years across this once booming industrial region.
But a new candidate running to represent the state in the Senate is testing the notion that Democrats need not apply out here. John Fetterman, a Democrat who has made his home in Braddock, just outside of Pittsburgh, is searching for votes in what he calls the “ruby red” counties across the state.
