Pence Visits Pennsylvania To Lend Hand In House Race
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA) - Vice President Mike Pence was in the Pittsburgh area Friday to appear at a campaign rally and speak at the Heinz History Center.
The vice president started his day in Bethel Park with a campaign rally for congressional candidate Rick Saccone.
The State Rep. hopes to take over the seat left vacant by disgraced congressman Tim Murphy.
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"This campaign is about something bigger than all of us," Saccone said at the rally. "It's about making America great again. Are you with us?"
But the star of the event was Vice President Mike Pence, who played the Republicans' greatest hits for the crowd in Bethel Park.
"With Rick Saccone in Congress, we're gonna pass a historic infrastructure bill, and we're going to rebuild America," Pence said. "With Rick Saccone in Congress, we're gonna fix a broken immigration system, and with Rick Saccone in Congress, we're gonna build a wall."
While President Trump won Pennsylvania's 18th District by 20 points, special elections are tricky. It's hard to get voters out. It's even difficult for sitting congressmen to get the date right.
"On March the 14th, we gotta show up," Cong. Mike Kelly, of Butler, said. "We've gotta show up in such great numbers… alright, the 13th."
Saccone is facing Democrat Conor Lamb, who was attacked Friday as a Nancy Pelosi liberal.
Following the Saccone rally, Pence stopped to speak at the Heinz History Center, where he spoke to KDKA-TV's Jon Delano in a one-on-one interview.
Besides boosting Saccone, Pence took a shot at Senator Bob Casey, who is up for reelection this year.
"I honestly believe the people of Pennsylvania deserve to know that Senator Bob Casey voted against cutting their taxes. Businesses across Pennsylvania deserve to know that Senator Bob Casey voted against cutting taxes in a way that would allow them to grow and expand and compete with companies all over the world. Senator Bob Casey voted against repealing the Obamacare mandate."
Pence, when reminded, understood it's voters at this end of the state that delivered for the Republicans.
Delano: "You know it's western Pennsylvania that delivered the state of Pennsylvania to your ticket."
Pence: "President Trump and I love Pennsylvania."
Delano: "Western Pennsylvania, sir!"
Pence: "We love western Pennsylvania!"
Casey, meanwhile, released the following statement in response to Pence's comments:
"Pittsburghers have seen this song and dance before from the President and now the Vice President - lots of talk, no action. When it comes to fighting for middle class families in Western Pennsylvania, I would put my record of securing health care for 2,000 retired coal miners and securing funding to repair the region's waterways, which support 200,000 jobs, up against the Vice President's tax giveaways to the super-rich and big corporations any day."
