Fetterman and McCormick form bipartisan joint fundraising committee

Pennsylvania's two U.S. senators have teamed up to form a joint fundraising committee to raise money for their campaigns in an unusual display of bipartisanship — and one that may not actually be meant to generate funds.

Common Ground PA filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Monday. The joint fundraising committee lists both Fetterman and McCormick's leadership PACs as well as their principal campaign committees as the participants.

"The joint fundraising committee is specifically just for raising money," said Brandon Glavin, the director of insights for non-partisan political transparency organization OpenSecrets. In a joint fundraising committee, only the participants are allowed to receive money donated to the committee. "They can't make contributions to other candidates or other PACs." 

Fetterman is up for reelection in the 2028 cycle, while McCormick is not up for reelection until 2030. The most recent FEC filings show Fetterman for PA has about $1.99 million in cash on hand, while McCormick has about $954,000. 

Politico was the first to note the joint fundraising committee's formation earlier this week. When KDKA-TV asked if he'd ever seen campaigns from opposite sides of the aisle form a joint fundraising committee, Glavin said, "I'm not gonna say it's never happened, but certainly, I was definitely very surprised to see that." 

Glavin said the campaigns may be trying to appeal to a certain kind of donor, and the committee may be more about messaging than money. "The goal may be more to present both of them as being people who are willing to work with the other side. That is something that is attractive to voters, to say 'I'm not part of this hyper-partisan problem that we have in our country.'" 

But Glavin also said the message may have niche appeal. "Certainly most of your donors are not gonna be keen on the idea of giving their money to basically the opposite side of where they stand." 

Neither Fetterman nor McCormick has positive approval with Pennsylvania voters. A Quinnipiac poll in February 2026 found 46% approve of Fetterman's job performance overall, while 37% approve of McCormick's handling of his job. Fetterman has also come under fire from within his own party. 

KDKA reached out to Fetterman and McCormick's campaigns for comment.