Republican U.S. Senate candidate meets, greets residents in Milton
May 23—MILTON — David McCormick, the Republican candidate for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat, continued his bus tour with a Thursday afternoon stop in Milton, where he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of area residents and regional party officials.
People came from as far away as Shamokin, Sunbury and Selinsgrove to meet the candidate, who is touring all 67 Pennsylvania counties.
McCormick is running against incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in November's general election. During his visit, he addressed inflation, farming, community development and jobs.
Inflation is the number one problem Pennsylvania faces, and it's killing small farms, McCormick said.
"The cost of production. Food, fuel, and rent prices have gone up for everyone," he said. "The trillions of dollars in spending bills under the Biden administration, and, really, both parties, is the driver of inflation. Getting spending under control is key to bringing down inflation. Unlocking oil and gas could drive down fuel prices."
Donna Snyder, of Northumberland Borough, and Steve Todzia, of Shamokin, like what they have heard about McCormick, and that inspired them to meet him. "His position on the issues is like mine," Snyder said.
When you talk about rural communities, McCormick said, "These are great places to live, and if you can work remotely, towns like this can attract people from city suburbs. The key to making it work is having broadband access. There needs to be an internet broadband infrastructure in rural areas. So you can be sitting here and working anywhere around the world."
Being so near populous centers like New York and Philadelphia gives rural Pennsylvanians in Northumberland and other counties the benefit of attaining high-paying jobs from those areas while still living in the Valley. "That's the opportunity these wonderful small towns in Central Pennsylvania have," he said.
He also took on divisive — even within his party — issues such as abortion, Ukraine funding, and the Israeli-Hamas war.
McCormick said he is pro-life, is opposed to a national abortion ban, and supports exceptions in the cases of rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother.
About the Ukraine-Russia war, "I support Ukraine funding," he said. "I think it is in America's interest to do so. If Putin further de-stabilizes Europe that could be very bad for America. And not supporting Ukraine sends a dangerous signal to our allies. Joe Biden got us into this position by sending weak signals to Putin."
His position on the Israeli-Hamas War "couldn't be more clear to me. I stand by Israel in eradicating Hamas. Hamas is barbaric. Pure evil."
Referencing the kids protesting on college campuses, McCormick said "It is disgraceful. The kids are not recognizing the difference between right and wrong, good and evil."
"I don't agree with him on everything," said Samuel Huntley, of Selinsgrove. "But I do like that he supports Ukraine funding. He's a tough conservative and we need more like him in Washington."
