Sen. John Fetterman has endorsed two progressive third-party candidates seeking seats on Philadelphia City Council, becoming the second statewide Democrat to buck local leaders and align with the Working Families Party.

In a statement Monday, Fetterman called his endorsement of incumbent Councilmember Kendra Brooks and her running mate, the Rev. Nicolas O’Rourke, “an easy decision.”

“Philadelphia has the opportunity to elect two champions for working families, instead of a Republican Party that’s fighting progress everywhere you look,” he said. “As Senator, I want partners in government in Philadelphia and throughout our commonwealth who are champions in putting working families over billionaires and corporate donors.”

The endorsement from Fetterman, one of the darlings of the national progressive movement, is a noteworthy development less than two months before the Nov. 7 general election. Four candidates — two Republicans and two Working Families Party candidates — are battling for a pair of seats on Council that are effectively reserved for non-Democrats. Those seats were held by Republicans for 70 years until 2019, when Brooks won her first term.