Republican Candidates for U.S. Senate, Pennsylvania Present Their Case at Meeting

May 2—LEWISBURG — With only two weeks left before the May 17 primary, four of the seven Republican candidates running for U.S. Senate participated in a one-hour forum Monday night, hosted by the Susquehanna Valley Conservatives group.

The candidates who showed up were: Kathy Barnette, Jeff Bartos, Sean Gale, and Carla Sands. Not appearing were David McCormick, Mehmet Oz and George Bochetto.

Each candidate had 10 minutes to ask for votes from among the more than 125 people in the audience, crowded into a conference room at the Best Western Hotel.

There was much unity in the candidates' speeches, each one deriding and blaming the Biden administration for over-regulations, inflation and mishandling of business practices during the pandemic.

The differences, however, were often stark. Candidate Sands touted her experience as an ambassador (in Denmark and Greenland) during the Trump administration. She suggested to the crowd that she was the only candidate among the seven who are running, who had the experience to govern from day one. She said that if elected she would advocate for building the wall on the southwest border.

Second to speak was Sean Gale, whose ire was directed at "bad Republicans" who, he contended, didn't do the job they were elected for once they were in office. A particular target of Gale was Pat Toomey. He lashed out at Republicans like John McCain, Mitch McConnel and Mitt Romney, who blocked Republican legislation, even when the party held a majority. "We had too many squandered opportunities," he said.

Bartos was the third speaker, and he began by lashing out at individuals — without speaking their names — "polluting our airwaves with attack ads" but never show up to events like the debate.

"They can't be bothered to show up because they don't care about you," he said. "I'm proud to travel to all 67 counties throughout the commonwealth, and I will always show up for Pennsylvanians.

"You can't save Main Street if you can't find it — and these out-of-state candidates can't find Main Street," he said. "But do you know who can? (Democrat) John Fetterman. and if he's elected to the Senate, he will take a bulldozer to Main Street small businesses. We need to send someone to Washington who knows our values and our communities."

Bartos said he's running to save "Main Street Pennsylvania."

"I've lived here my whole life," he said. "I love this commonwealth with every fiber of my being. This commonwealth is worth fighting for, and we need someone who can be trusted to represent our values in Washington."

Barnette began by talking about her humble beginnings, growing up poor on a pig farm in Alabama. Because of her upbringing, she said, she undertands the issues of farmers.

"My campaign is your campaign," Barnette said, her voice raised. "This country allowed me to create a new story for myself, and this is what we all can do."

Her campaign is fighting for the soul of America, she said.