Ahmed Moor, a Palestinian American writer and businessman born in Gaza, has entered the 2028 U.S. Senate race in Pennsylvania, becoming the first declared Democratic challenger to incumbent Sen. John Fetterman.
The 42-year-old Philadelphia resident announced his candidacy on Nov. 9, positioning himself as a progressive alternative to Fetterman, particularly on U.S. policy toward Israel, economic inequality and government accountability.
Born in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, Moor moved to Philadelphia with his family when he was a child.
His father was working for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-founded social justice organization.
The family later returned to the region, living in Ramallah in the West Bank for three years before leaving in 2000.
Moor graduated from Roxborough High School and the University of Pennsylvania before earning a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.
His professional career has taken him through finance, journalism and international development. Before attending graduate school, he worked at Swiss Re Capital Markets, a global reinsurance firm, in New York.
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He subsequently moved into journalism and reported from Beirut, covering the 2011 Egyptian revolution as a freelancer for The Guardian and other publications.
Moor later spent eight years in Jordan, where he established and operated a venture capital-backed lending organization serving small businesses in Jordan and Egypt. He then returned to Philadelphia with his wife in 2021 to raise their three daughters.
He has also contributed to foreign policy discussions through opinion writing and served on the boards of local community organizations, including the People’s Media Fund and the Parent Infant Center.
He is a fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace and co-edited the 2012 book “After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine.”
Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Moor became a dues-paying member of the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
His political platform combines domestic economic proposals with a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy.
His main focus is on universal free child care, Medicare for All and a nationwide wealth tax on billionaires. He has also called for reducing corporate and special-interest influence in government.
Moor’s position on Israel is a central distinction between his campaign and Fetterman’s record, as he supports withdrawing U.S. military assistance to Israel and imposing economic sanctions until Palestinians have equal rights.
He has also advocated legislation modeled on the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, which imposed sanctions on South Africa.
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In his Nov. 9 announcement on X, Moor said he was running to end the war in Iran and advance what he calls a “dignity agenda” of free health care, free child care and affordable housing.
He also called for accountability over genocide, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and corruption, alongside protections for civil liberties.
Moor has described his candidacy as an effort to address broader problems in American governance rather than simply remove the incumbent senator.
“I’m not really running against Fetterman. I’m running for good government. I’m running for the rule of law. I’m running because I believe in America,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Fetterman, who took office in January 2023, has faced criticism from progressive Democrats for his continued support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and occasional alignment with Republicans on policy issues.
Moor acknowledged that challenging an incumbent senator would be an uphill battle, particularly against candidates with greater political experience and fundraising networks, and says that he intends to take his campaign message to all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, Fetterman has not yet announced whether he will seek a second term in 2028.