Braddock Mayor Chardae Jones spurns John Fetterman, endorses Rep. Kenyatta for Senate

Apr. 1—Braddock Mayor Chardae Jones on Wednesday endorsed state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta in next year's U.S. Senate race over her predecessor and fellow resident, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman.

"When it comes to his beliefs against fracking and his involvement in mental health policy it was a no-brainer to endorse Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta for Senate," Jones wrote in a Facebook post.

Jones said Kenyatta has visited Braddock, and a campaign video released by his campaign touting her endorsement shows the pair walking through Braddock and interacting with residents.

"I believe in Malcom because he believes in these small communities, and him just coming to Braddock says a lot about his character," Jones says in the video. "He knows how it feels to be in a community like Braddock."

Jones, 32, was appointed mayor in 2019 after Fetterman stepped down from the position to become lieutenant governor. Fetterman brought national attention to the struggling steel town as mayor, appearing on a number of cable news shows and episodes of "The Colbert Report" and Hulu's "A Day in the Life."

The Fetterman campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jones said in her Facebook post that Kenyatta "didn't come to Braddock telling me what we needed but walked around asking people what they wanted."

She said she relates to him as a fellow millennial, noting "his young energy wants to find creative solutions," and her video endorsement draws parallels between the two of them.

"When he was telling me about his community, I felt like, 'Hey, I've been there,'" because there are some similarities of where he grew up and how I grew up," she said.

Republican Pat Toomey holds the Senate seat. He has said he will not seek a third term in 2022.

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Megan Guza is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 412-380-8519, mguza@triblive.com or via Twitter .