PENNSBURG – More than 200 people came out to a campaign rally on Wednesday in Montgomery County to hear from Dave McCormick, the Republican candidate running for U.S. Senate representing the Keystone State.
Along with the high profile presidential race with Democrats Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Republicans former president Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Pennsylvania’s senate race between the incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and McCormick remain closely watched.
“It’s a choice between change and the status quo,” McCormick said of Casey, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 and has served three terms in office.
Political dignitaries continue to make the rounds, visiting key swing states like Pennsylvania ahead of the general election. Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley joined McCormick’s Wednesday afternoon visit in Marlborough Township.
Haley, who faced off against Trump before suspending her campaign in March, also previously served as the governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the United Nations.
“It’s awesome to have a strong Republican female come out and visit us,” said Green Lane resident Jamie Landis, who said Haley’s appearance piqued her interest in the McCormick campaign event.
Top Republicans in Pennsylvania emphasized the importance of having the candidate visit the key battleground county with less than a week until Election Day.
“This is great. I mean Montgomery County is ground zero for Pennsylvania,” Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello told MediaNews Group. “Republicans are working hard in Montgomery County. Democrats are working hard. Everybody believes it’s all coming down to Montgomery County…”
“Montgomery County is in play, we all know that, and he may not win all of Montgomery County, but if he can chip away at a couple points that will put him over the top,” state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-24th Dist. told MediaNews Group.
Art Bustard, of Cedars, too underscored the value of McCormick’s stop in Montgomery County. Bustard lost against state Rep. Matt Bradford, D-70th Dist. in the 2022 general election.
“It’s indicative of the importance of this area and the amount of voters that we have in this area. He’s got to do well here,” Bustard said.
Officials anticipate high voter turnout in the 2024 general election after figures from the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services revealed 632,919 people registered to vote in the state’s third most populous county.
McCormick, a former hedge fund CEO, previously lost to Dr. Mehmet Oz by 950 votes in the 2022 Republican primary, according to a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s election results summary report. McCormick ran unopposed in the 2024 primary election.
“I think it’s really cool that our little section of the county matters, that they’re here,” Landis said. “I hope they do well on Election Day. I’m not sure if there’s still people that still need to make up their minds, but I’m pretty sure everybody here already has.”
Eagleville resident Russell Schmidt agreed, emphasizing how it “means a lot” that “they care about everybody in all different areas, not just the big cities or not just the main areas…”
Those attending the Wednesday afternoon campaign rally were seen holding signs and donning stickers to show their support for the Republican senatorial nominee.
“I decided to come out because I support everything that Dave McCormick does and we need change in Pennsylvania,” said Harleysville resident Michelle Lopoten.
“I’m interested to hear what Dave McCormick has to say about his campaign and the future of the country,” Schmidt said, adding that he’s “generally concerned about the direction the country’s heading in.”
Music played ahead of the event as the crowd filled into a museum showcasing trucks and aged equipment on the property of John B. Haines IV. Haines, of Pennsburg, is the founder and board co-chairman of the Skippack-based construction company H&K Group Inc. Haines noted how the company employs around 1,900 people as he reflected on the success of his business over the past six decades and looked to the future ahead.
While Haines said he believes in the Republican party, he said he typically shied away from bringing politics onto the grounds of his home. But he did stress “this is a special election we’re going through right now.”
“This is going to change the whole world, and it’s just I don’t like all the fighting that’s going on between the parties. I think they’re both having problems,” Haines said. “It’s just I’m very emotional because I came from nothing, and I don’t know why in this world that somebody like me that started with nothing has to give more and more money to people that don’t want to work.”
Following the pledge of allegiance and a prayer, introductory speakers followed, including DiBello, Pennycuick, Pennsylvania GOP Vice Chairwoman Bernie Comfort, and Attorney General candidate Dave Sunday. Politicians spent time not only stumping for McCormick, but also former President Trump.
“Six days until Trump is our president. Six days until McCormick is our senator,” Pennycuick said in her remarks.
“We have to do more than just elect Dave McCormick, we have to elect Donald Trump,” Haley said. “Because if Donald Trump wins Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick wins Pennsylvania.”
McCormick touted his record of growing up in Bloomsburg, attending West Point and serving in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. In the private sector, McCormick was the head of Bridgewater Associates, headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, according to media reports.
“So what I am excited about is Pennsylvania actually has a candidate. Pennsylvania actually has a fighter,” Haley said of McCormick. “He’s a combat veteran. He knows what it means to sacrifice for our country. He’s a business guy. He knows what it means to balance a budget and save dollars.”
McCormick shared his perspective on the gravity of the upcoming election.
“We tell ourselves every election cycle this is the most important election of your lifetime,” he said. “We say it over and over again. But I’m here to tell you this is the most important election of our lifetime, this one right here.”
Haley also stressed how “we need to take the emotion out of this election and really think about the policy and what it means for our kids and the next generation.”
Speakers took aim at Casey, calling the three-term senator a “career politician.” They criticized his voting record in alignment with legislative items passed by the Biden-Harris Administration with respect to reducing inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic. Casey and McCormick faced off in a debate earlier this month.
“But this Senate seat, don’t underestimate how important this is,” McCormick said.
Haley also spoke of Casey’s voting record with respect to fracking, alleging he “voted against expanding fracking six times.” However, according to Politifact, Casey has “never called to ban fracking” and has taken several votes to oppose fracking bans and has proposed legislation to impose environmental regulations on the practice.
McCormick also blasted the Democratic presidential candidate, asserting that “Kamala Harris is the most liberal, extreme liberal nominee in modern political history.”
McCormick targeted several policy issues ranging from “ban[ning] fracking” to “legalizing illegal immigration.”
While the Poynter Institute’s Politifact reported Harris in 2020 said “she supported a ban on fracking,” her 2024 campaign “said she does not support a ban on fracking.” With respect to immigration issues, Harris said in a CNN Town Hall event earlier this month that “as of today, we have cut the flow of immigration by over half,” per Politifact, which found the “number of encounters along the southwestern U.S. border … has declined by 57 percent to 78 percent.”
But voter outreach remained a top priority when advocating for Republican candidates up and down the ballot. High-ranking Pennsylvania Republicans encouraged area residents to vote, donate to campaigns and get in touch with others to encourage them to vote in the final days leading up to the general election.
“By the way, I’m running as a Republican. I’m a conservative, but I’m going to represent every single Pennsylvanian,” McCormick said. “And these problems — skyrocketing prices, the Fentanyl crisis on the wide open border, the war on fossil fuels, crime — these are problems for every single Pennsylvanian.
“So I’m asking for your support,” he continued. “I’m asking for you to tell your friends. I’m asking you to put out signs. I’m asking you to say your prayers, because this election really matters.”
