One of the Democratic hopefuls seeking to challenge Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., this fall visited Jim Thorpe Tuesday night.

John Fetterman, the mayor of the Western Pennsylvania borough of Braddock, addressed the Carbon County Democrats for Change at itsmonthly meeting.Fetterman is vying for the democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate this fall along with fellow challengers Adm. Joe Sestak and Katie McGinty, who served as Gov. Tom Wolf's chief of staff.Before about 50 democrats in attendance, Fetterman talked about his progressive platform, and shared the story of how he rose from being a GED teacher to a well-known mayor with aspirations toward Washington.A native of York, Fetterman moved to Braddock to lead a GED program more than a decade ago. He stayed, seeing the potential in the depressed steel town, and picked up a master's in public policy from Harvard along the way.He said after two of his students were gunned down in separate incidents, he decided he needed a bigger platform, and ran for mayor. He said that it was a similar process that led him to the Senate run."I ran for mayor because I couldn't do everything I wanted to do. As a mayor, I can't have a macro impact on poverty, drug enforcement and a living wage, so I chose the best platform available," he said.Fetterman clearly looks different from other candidates for Senate, measuring 6-foot-8 and choosing a mechanic's shirt over the traditional politicians' oxford. His platform also looks a lot different from his opponents'. He said he is the only Senate candidate in the United States that has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, for the democratic nomination for president. He made it clear his main issue is closing the income disparity between the richest and poorest, and he would be in favor of raising the country's $7.25 per hour minimum wage."Braddock's community mirrors the struggle with inequality nationally," he said. "There are people who are struggling to pay the heat, and people who can buy an election."His platform also includes combating climate change, "compassionate" immigration reform and legalizing marijuana.He said the immigration issue is a personal one, being married to a woman who emigrated from Brazil as a child.Regarding marijuana, he said he feels the drug should be legalized and taxed to fund education.He said those stances couldn't be any further from Toomey's. Regardless, Fetterman feels that he is the best candidate to take him on in November."There probably isn't a bigger difference between two candidates in the country," he said.