While he can't run until 2028, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman believes that if a Democratic primary were held today, he would win.

During an Aug. 5 conversation in CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, responded positively to a question about how he might fare in a bid for reelection.

"Yeah," he said, then added, "I mean, I mean, that's — we don't know exactly, but overall, it's 2026, so it's, it's really kind of a theoretic."

The comment comes after questions have been raised by both Republicans and Democrats about whether or not Fetterman will switch parties, with Fetterman telling NBC News last month that he would no longer stay with the Democratic party if they "officially become the anti-Israel party."

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on the day of classified briefings for the full U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the situation in Iran.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, on March 19, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 7, 2026.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) departs a Democratic luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on November 6, 2025. Lawmakers continue to negotiate as the government shutdown reaches its 37th day, the longest in U.S. history.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) sits on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on October 1, 2025.

US Senator John Fetterman, Democrat from Pennsylvania, speaks to reporters outside US Steel's Clairton Coke Works following an explosion at the plant in Clairton, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 11, 2025. An explosion at the steel plant has left dozens wounded and others missing.

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks with members of the media outside the Senate chamber, following a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and top Republican congressional leaders at the White House, just ahead of a September 30, 2025, deadline to fund the government and avoid a shutdown.

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) attends an event at the White House where President Donald Trump signs the Laken Riley Act, legislation requiring the detention of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who are accused of theft, on January 29, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman returns to work at the U.S. Senate on April 17, 2023, for the first time since he was hospitalized for clinical depression.

Democratic Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman participates in the Senate debate in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 25, 2022.

John Fetterman visits Dominick's 24-Hour Eatery in 2015 when he was a Pennsylvania Senator. In the foreground are his wife, Gisele, and their son, August.

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on the day of classified briefings for the full U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on the situation in Iran.

Here's what to know.

A July poll from Quinnipiac University showed that 48% of Pennsylvania voters approved of Fetterman's performance in the U.S. Senate. He was up 77%–12% with Republicans, but down 69%–19% among Democrats and 48%–44% among independents.

The Quinnipiac poll also showed 52% of voters wanted him to leave the Democratic party, with just 31% saying they would like him to stay.

At the end of July, PennLive polled readers about whether or not they would vote for Fetterman if he were up for reelection this year. Of the 630 respondents, 58% said they would vote for someone else. 40% said they would probably (28%) or definitely (12%) vote for Fetterman.

As of Aug. 6, 2026, Fetterman had not announced official plans to run for reelection in 2028.

Fetterman ran as a Democrat in 2022, but there's been speculation that he'll switch parties, prompted by his votes in favor of President Donald Trump's cabinet picks, public criticism of Democrats and regular appearances on Fox News.

In April, Pennsylvania's GOP Chair Senator Greg Rothman said he was watching to see if Fetterman would jump ship, according to PennLive.

"We're still trying to wrestle with what happens if John Fetterman switched party and becomes a Republican," Rothman said.

Last month, Fetterman commented on the issue, telling NBC News that there was one condition that would cause him to leave his party.

"If they put that in our platform — no aid for Israel — and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that's a red line for me," Fetterman said. "Democrats, we always should support Israel. That's our special ally, you know? In the only democracy in the entire region, that's Israel. So I'm always proud to stand with Israel."

Fetterman was only one of two Democratic senators to confirm at least 50% of Trump's cabinet nominees in 2025, voting in favor of 12 of 23 candidates, according to Ballotpedia. Still, he remains an ideological Democrat based on GovTrack's Ideology-Leadership Chart, which shows several Democratic senators who are ideologically closer to the Republican party.

Fetterman scored the majority of votes in Allegheny County on Election Night 2022, recording 363,873 votes (63.4%) while Republican challenger Dr. Mehmet Oz received 200,672 (34.9%), according to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania election results.

The votes from the Pittsburgh area and Allegheny County made up more than 13.2% of Fetterman's 2,751,012 total votes in 2022.

Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fetterman says he'd win a Democratic primary today. What the polls say