Former President George W. Bush visits Philly for Sen. Pat Toomey

WASHINGTON — Former President George W. Bush visited Philadelphia Friday to raise money for Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican locked in a heated reelection battle against Democrat Katie McGinty.

Bush spoke to a crowd of GOP faithful at the Union League at an event where VIP tickets cost $2,500 and other tickets cost $1,000. The sponsors chipped in $10,000 apiece, according to an invitation. The event was first reported by WHYY.

Bush, like Toomey, has pointedly refused to endorse GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. But the former president is working around the country to help vulnerable Republican senators and Congressmen.

Toomey and McGinty are in the final weeks of one of the country's most critical Senate races, one of a handful expected to decide control of the chamber and already the most expensive in the country. Insiders expect the race to go down to the wire.

"I don't usually have people calling unsolicited, but on this event I've had at least a half a dozen people call or run into me and say they wanted to support Pat Toomey," said Manny Stamatakis, one of the event's co-chairs and a prominent Pennsylvania fund-raiser with close ties to Bush. "It tells me something."

Toomey, until recently, has had few big names into the state to help him -- but earlier this week did another fund-raiser with House Speaker Paul Ryan, and now has a former president to help him as he heads into the campaign's final four weeks.

Bush spoke for an hour to a room of about 200, said Bill Wanger, a Philadlephia attorney who attended the event. The former president did not mention Trump or Hillary by name but instead talked about the importance of the office of the president, said some attendees, as well as his efforts to aid veterans and fight AIDS in Africa.

Bush said Toomey's "knowledge of the economy and of the country is just far beyond anybody else," according to Wanger, who was dressed in a suit with a GOP-and-elephant tie.

"To many of us," Wanger said of the former president, "he's a superstar."

Michael Ryan, a retired cardiologist from Devon, said, "When it comes to politics, this is probably the first refreshing thing I've heard [since] I can't tell you when."

He was impressed by Bush's discussion of political principles, he said. Ryan and his wife, Priscilla, said they did not know who they would vote for for president.

"I wish I could vote for a man or woman... With the character of the speaker we just heard," he said.

They do know they'll be voting for Toomey.

"He has a lot of character," Priscilla Ryan said. "He stands up for what he thinks is right."

Staff writer Justine McDaniel contributed to this report.

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