Halfway through Mayor John Fetterman’s stump speech at the Sykes Theater on Wednesday he paused to ask if anyone in the audience thought there was too much money in American politics. Hands shot up.

“You can relax,” the 46- year-old Mayor of Braddock, PA joked, “it’s worse than you think.”

For just under an hour Mayor Fetterman introduced himself to those gathered, speaking modestly of what has become his life’s work: improving conditions inside his troubled western Pennsylvania city.

“Many of the issues we’ve been fighting in Braddock over the past 15 years have now moved to the forefront of the democratic argument,” he said, before discussing the Black Lives Matter movement, community policing, income inequality, and immigration.

“As a mayor, there’s only so much you can do to fight to improve people’s lives”, said Mayor Fetterman, who announced his campaign last September.

One audience member wanted to know what Fetterman’s first priority would be in Washington. Mayor Fetterman didn’t miss a beat: “I want to fight against income inequality the same way Elizabeth Warren fights for Wall Street Reform.” Mayor Fetterman is the only elected official in Pennsylvania to endorse Bernie Sanders for president.

That a senate candidate from a Pittsburg suburb is in eastern PA means the primary race is swinging into gear. Mayor Fetterman faces stiff competition from much more establishment democrats Joe Sestak and Katie McGinty. On Thursday, the Democratic Party of Chester County announced their support for former Navy Admiral Joe Sestak.

Democrats will head to the polls April 26 to decide which candidate will face one-term senator Pat Toomey in the November election.