Senate candidate Dave McCormick visits the Markets at Hanover on campaign trail
With the 2024 election cycle in full swing, U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick stopped in Hanover to speak with local business owners along the campaign trail Wednesday.
During the event, hosted at the Markets at Hanover on Broadway, owners of area businesses small and large voiced their concerns to the Senate candidate.
Among business representatives in attendance were League-Legacy, Burkentine Builders, the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce, and many vendors from the markets.
While many questions from the audience focused mainly on broader national issues, several local business owners spoke with the candidate on more locally focused issues that they said their businesses had encountered.
That included several in attendance who touched on feeling the pressures of regulations on their local businesses.
During this discussion about regulation, McCormick shared his view that two regulations should be removed for each new regulation that is instituted.
Mental health was an additional topic of discussion, as several people in the audience spoke of the challenges of mental health in the workforce, and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on mental health locally.
John Schmidt, owner of Craft Eats at the market, highlighted the issue of mental health to McCormick during the discussion, expressing how the lack of support for those struggling with mental health issues can often make it difficult to retain workers.
Schmidt, a former coworker of McCormick in a previous career, had helped draw McCormick to the Hanover area along the campaign trail.
Among other local issues highlighted in the discussion, McCormick touched on an issue familiar to many in the York-Adams region, as he discussed the large solar farms that have popped up around the state.
McCormick, who said he owns many acres of farmland in Pennsylvania, said he has had offers from solar companies to use the land for solar farms for more than farmers can offer, due to what he explained as government subsidies towards renewable energy.
McCormick described those subsidies as being part of a larger problem of government spending.
The race, in which McCormick is challenging incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, is likely to be one of the most closely watched elections of this cycle.
Following the discussion, McCormick was invited on a tour of the market, visiting local vendors such as GrillRilla, Holistic Vibes, 2Delicious and Craft Eats.
Then, it was off to the next campaign stop, with the campaign bus heading to the Pittsburgh area by the end of the day Wednesday.
Harrison Jones is the Hanover reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Senate candidate Dave McCormick visits the Markets at Hanover, Pa.
