宾夕法尼亚州参议员约翰·费特曼（民主党籍）周六为其民主党人的身份进行了辩护，尽管他在关键问题上偏离了党的立场——但他拒绝推测如果其党派在11月获得51个席位的多数优势，他将如何打破僵局。
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) defended his position as a Democrat on Saturday despite straying from the party on key issues — but refused to speculate how he would break ties if his party attained a 51-seat majority this November.
在奥斯汀举行的《德克萨斯论坛报》节闭幕主题演讲中，费特曼表示，他认为民主党控制参议院“完全有可能”，并考虑到他可能处于在党派路线立法上投下决定性一票的位置。
During the closing keynote at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Fetterman said he believes a Democratic control of the Senate was “entirely possible” and considered the possibility that he could be in a position to cast the tie-breaking vote on party-line legislation.
“让我们在中期选举后再回顾此事，看看会发生什么，你知道的，如果我恰好成为第51票。我不知道，”费特曼说。
“Let’s revisit after the midterms, and let’s see what happens, you know, if I happen to be 51. I don’t know,” Fetterman said.
在整个对话过程中，主持人、哥伦比亚广播公司新闻记者梅杰·加勒特反复追问费特曼是否会离开他的党派。这位参议员在其首个参议员任期内曾多次背离党派，联合共和党投票反对伊朗战争权力决议，并反对切断对以色列的援助。
Throughout their conversation, the moderator, CBS News’ Major Garrett, repeatedly probed Fetterman on whether he would leave his party. The senator has broken with his party during his first term in the Senate to join Republicans in voting against Iran war powers resolutions and opposing the cutoff off aid to Israel.
本月初，这位民主党人因出现在共和党中期选举大会（在达拉斯举行）的一段视频中而受到同僚批评，他在视频中介绍宾夕法尼亚州共和党参议员戴夫·麦考密克为“挚友”。针对该视频引发的负面反应，费特曼坚称他不考虑转党。
Earlier this month, the Democrat faced criticism from his colleagues after he appeared in a video at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas, in which he introduced Pennsylvania’s GOP Sen. Dave McCormick as a “great friend.” In response to negative reactions to this clip, Fetterman insisted he was not considering switching parties.
“我不会成为共和党人，”他在国会山告诉记者。“你们为什么不能等到中期选举？如果我真成了共和党人，那我就是个骗子。我的名字不在选票上。冷静点。”费特曼周六再次重申了他留在民主党的承诺。“我说过我作为共和党人没有出路。这是事实，”他说。
“I’m not going to be a Republican,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “Why can’t you guys just wait till the midterms? And if I turn a Republican, then I’ll be a liar. My name is not on the ballot. Chill.” Fetterman reupped his commitment to remaining within the Democratic Party again on Saturday.
随后，在回答观众关于为何不将政治身份改为“独立人士”（考虑到他与民主党决裂）的提问时，这位宾夕法尼亚州参议员似乎口误了。
“I’ve said I have no path as a Republican. That’s a fact,” he said. Later, the Pennsylvania senator appeared to misspeak when responding to an audience question about why he would not switch his political identification to “independent” given his breaks with Democrats.
“因为我是一名终身共和党人，”参议员回答，随即被加勒特迅速纠正。
Later, the Pennsylvania senator appeared to misspeak when responding to an audience question about why he would not switch his political identification to “independent” given his breaks with Democrats.
“我敢保证，那一定会引起轰动；不过那些评论肯定会被人删掉（或被屏蔽）的，”费特曼开玩笑说。“不过，我确实是一辈子的民主党支持者。”
“Because I’m a lifelong Republican,” the senator replied, prompting a quick correction from the Garrett. “I guarantee you, that’s going to break through. That’ll get clipped,” Fetterman joked. “Yeah, I’m a lifelong Democrat though.”