Lamb brings Senate campaign to Cambria County

May 3—SIDMAN, Pa. — U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb referred to himself as the one candidate in the Democratic primary field for the state's open U.S. Senate seat who has worked to bring back voters to the party in recent years during his campaign stop at Berwind Wayside Festival Park on Monday.

Cambria County is a prime example of the political shift, with Republicans holding a voter registration majority since 2020 after decades of Democratic dominance.

"You guys, being here in Cambria County, you know what I'm talking about," Lamb said. "Those are our people. They have always been our people in the Democratic Party. and we started losing them somewhere along the way, not based on the issues of our choosing, right? If we were still running campaigns about Medicare and Social Security, we'd be winning in these areas no problem.

"But somehow, along the line, our opponents found a way to get these people to focus 3,000 miles away on the southern border or on a scheme to take their guns that is never going to come into reality. There are more and more guns sold every single year in America."

Lamb said his party should address issues that are about "day-to-day reality."

He also stressed the need to not focus on former President Donald Trump, a Republican.

Rather, Lamb listed a series of proposals he supports — making Social Security payments larger, bringing down the Medicare age, lowering drug prices and reducing student loan debt.

"Unfortunately, we won't win this November election because people hate Trump," Lamb said. "That's not the path. The path is to lay out for people a series of steps that we can do to actually help them in a concrete and meaningful way."

He received support from some of the county's most prominent Democrats — former U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, Commissioner Thomas Chernisky and Controller Ed Cernic Jr.

Lamb also evoked the memory of the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha, the longest serving congressman in Pennsylvania history.

"There is still so much desire here to make things in America again, to rebuild our manufacturing base, to really reap the benefit of all those years that people like Murtha were bringing federal funding here to try to keep the industrial base going," Lamb said.

"I think, in the future, that's not going to be an option for us. We're going to end up in such a serious conflict with countries like China and Russia that we really do have to bring a lot back to this country."

During a question-and-answer period, Lamb discussed several issues, including abortion, education, unions and the environment.

"As Democrats, we're at our best when we're not necessarily thinking about one narrow group or one narrow cause, but we're speaking to things that help everybody, no matter who you are, no matter where you live or what you look like," Lamb said. "That's why, again, things like Social Security and Medicare are so successful and important for our party because they're universal. and that's how pre-K would be. A kid in Cambria County or inner-city Philadelphia would be helped the exact same way by a program that had just about every 3- or 4-year-old go to school."