Campaigning Wednesday with Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick had a message for the moderate voters of the Philadelphia suburbs: I’ll be a senator for all Pennsylvanians.
He made the comment to DVJournal during a campaign stop at a Bensalem market to make his case regarding inflation and “the price of poor leadership.”
McCormick blamed the soaring cost of living under the Biden-Harris administration on massive federal spending supported by his opponent, Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.).
“It’s underscoring what the impact has been on our economy and our working families of these failed policies of Biden, Harris, and Casey,” said McCormick. Casey voted “99 percent of the time for all these bad, bad policies and it’s hurting families, it’s hurting small businesses, it’s hurting farmers, the list goes on and on.”
About 50 people crowded into Bensalem Farm Market & Deli to hear McCormick speak.
McCormick has campaigned in 400 places around Pennsylvania this year and, he said, and he hears it wherever he goes.
Dave McCormick speaking. (Rear from left) state Sen. Frank Farry, Bensalem Mayor Joe DiGirolamo, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and state Rep. KC Tomlinson
When it comes to inflation, which hit 9.2 percent at one point, McCormick said, “We’ve got these extreme liberal policies of Harris and Bob Casey to thank.
“Their reckless spending has pushed inflation prices through the roof. They’ve unleashed trillions of dollars, trillions with a T, of wasteful federal spending that’s over-stimulated our economy. That’s what’s driving up the prices at the pump, the prices here. They’ve pushed this anti-energy agenda that’s driven up the prices of fuel. But it’s also hurting energy jobs. Pennsylvania is blessed with this incredible natural gas resource and many other natural resources, and these anti-energy policies are hurting all of us, not just those in the energy sector.”
“They’ve supported policies that have blocked economic mobility,” he said. “The ability to get ahead. That is the American Dream.”
Kim Koutsouradis, who owns a restaurant, said his father immigrated from Greece to follow the American Dream.
“Dad didn’t come here for free handouts,” Koutsouradis said. “Dad came here for the opportunities this country offered to anyone who put the hard work in.
“I think I can speak for many small business owners that over the past years it’s been harder and harder to keep our head above water,” he said. “Thirty percent increase in our utility bills, 40 percent increase in insurance. Let’s not forget what we all see at the supermarkets today. With me being in the restaurant business, food costs up 40 to 50 percent in the last few years. It’s not even possible for me to raise my prices to keep up with the increases.
“What’s the answer?” Koutsouradis asked. “I know what the answer is not: reelecting the same old failed leadership we have in Washington today. We need strong leadership to represent us…so we can afford things like feeding our families, heating our homes, not having to struggle with what bills we have to pay at the end of the month.”
Upper Southampton resident Sarah Gziminski, mother of a 3-month-old baby, said her family is being crushed by high costs, including childcare that can cost $12,000 per year per child.
Sanders has three children, ages 12, 10 and 9.
“It’s hard enough to be a parent without people like Bob Casey, and Harris, and Walz pushing down terrible policies, making it even more difficult, making it even more expensive, making it more challenging in every aspect of life,” said Sanders. “Every family in America is feeling it right now. That’s why we need new leadership. That’s why I’m here in Pennsylvania.
“My kids are a reminder of everything that’s at stake in America,” she said. “I know the decisions I make as governor, the decisions that Dave will make as a senator, impact me a lot less. That’s why it’s important for me to be here… That’s why it’s important that we elect Dave…He loves our country and was willing to put his life on the line to defend it. He served in the military. He knows what it’s like to sign the front of a paycheck. He knows what it is to run a business and how hard it is to grow a business.”
“Dave is the exact fighter we need at the time we need it most,” said Sanders.
Falls resident Candace Cabanas, who is running for state representative in the 140th District, came to support McCormick.
“I want more accountability with our tax dollars as a working-class person,” said Cabanas. “We really need that accountability when they’re taking our money and spending and spending it and it seems like there is no end in sight.”
The Casey campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
McCormick said the number one job creator in Pennsylvania is the energy sector and noted that all sorts of other jobs, like restaurants, hotels, mechanics and retail, also benefit from it. Pennsylvania needs to “be like Oklahoma or Texas and embrace our energy capability.”
Noting that many Philadelphia suburb residents are political moderates, DVJournal asked McCormick what he would say to reassure them that, as a self-described conservative, he’s the right person to be their senator.
McCormick harkened back to his days as a platoon leader in the 82nd Airborne Division.
“I had a young man from rural Alabama, an African American guy from Newark, a kid from Boston, Mass. And I had a platoon sergeant who was Hispanic, Puerto Rican, who was 35 and he seemed like he was ancient. I was 22. I never remember, during my time, talking about who was a Republican or Democrat, what their religion was, their faith, their race. It was all about being an American, serving our country, and taking care of one another. That’s who I am,” McCormick said.
“If I’m fortunate enough to be elected, I’ll represent all Pennsylvanians.”
