Beaver County could be a bellwether to determine 2024 presidential election
BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. (KDKA) -- While every part of Pennsylvania will play a role in deciding which presidential candidate wins the commonwealth, this region is a key target for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
A day after a jury convicted Donald Trump of 34 felonies, two friends playfully raised their fists at each other in the county seat of Beaver County; good friends who could not disagree more about Trump.
"He's my guy. He is. He is. I like him. He gets things done. He gets things done," New Brighton's Joan Ashton said.
"I think he is guilty of everything, and I'm the opposite of her. He is not my man at all," Pat Winters added.
Beaver County, like all the counties surrounding Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, was once a Democratic stronghold, but now, like the others, it has turned Republican in registration.
"It's not that Beaver County won't vote for a Democrat. They certainly don't like an extreme liberal," Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said.
Bible, a Democrat who calls himself a moderate, just defeated a Republican incumbent for district attorney. Bible says Trump is entitled to appeal his verdict, but not to disparage the American judicial system just because he lost.
"I think we have one of the greatest judicial systems in the world," Bible said. "Every time you don't get a decision that you like, you can't always say that something was foul."
For many Trump supporters like Brian Foster, the trial was a joke.
"Donald can be pretty out there sometimes, but I really think he got railroaded. I do not believe everything the prosecution said," Foster added.
Tricia Ladely, a registered Republican, says the verdict reinforces her decision to vote against Trump this time.
"I usually vote Republican, but I have not since he's been in the story," Ladely said.
Delano: Did you vote for [Trump] initially?
Ladely: Yeah, initially, the very first time I did, and I wish I wouldn't have.
County commissioner Tony Amadio, a Democrat who has won five terms, thinks other issues are bigger for voters than Trump's trial in this purple county.
"I'm sure Roe v. Wade is a big issue with some people. The economy, immigration, everybody has their own thoughts," Amadio said.
While Democrats like Bob Casey, Josh Shapiro, and Eugene DePasquale have all carried Beaver County, nobody expects Joe Biden to do so, but he doesn't have to win Beaver County to win the commonwealth. He just has to keep it close.