Josh Shapiro campaigned in Bucks County for Democrats in key races: ‘You’ve got a lot of power’

Exactly one month to the day ahead of the highly consequential midterm elections, Gov. Josh Shapiro stood in front of the Middletown Township Municipal Center and said something pretty much everyone in Bucks County is well aware of:

“Bucks County, you’ve got a lot of power,” he told the large crowd that gathered on the lawn and under trees with fall-tinged leaves.

Shapiro kicked off a day of action for Democrats organized by Planned Parenthood’s state-level political action committee Saturday afternoon in Bucks County. The purple county will be the center of crucial races for state Senate and U.S. Congress, and could determine the balance of power.

Shapiro, who is also running for reelection, promoted the Democrats at the forefront of those races Saturday, including 1st U.S. Congressional District candidate Bob Harvie and Eileen Hartnett Albillar, who is running in the 6th state Senate district. He framed their election as a chance to put a check on President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., and an opportunity to flip the state Senate and obtain the first Democratic trifecta in Harrisburg in decades.

Bryan Allen, Kristin Egan, and Monica Weninger are also running in Bucks County to expand Democrats’ majority in the state House.

Shapiro called the 1st Congressional District race — between Harvie and U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) — “the most competitive in the entire commonwealth.”

Three other U.S. House seats in Pennsylvania are also being targeted by both parties: the 7th, 8th, and 10th Districts. Shapiro has also described the 9th as competitive.

Harvie, in his speech, highlighted the affordability crisis and an “economy that is broken.” He also argued that the U.S. has “lost our stature around the world.”

“We’re going to put this country back in the path it was meant to be on. A country we can be proud of. A country we can be proud to hand our children and grandchildren, and a country that is strong around the world, strong at home, and we’re going to do that here in this county,” Harvie said.

With Planned Parenthood PA PAC organizing Saturday’s day of campaigning, the slew of Democratic officials and candidates in attendance also highlighted reproductive rights in their rallying calls.

Hartnett Albillar said in her speech that such rights go in tandem with cost-of-living issues, like making a livable wage and accessing childcare and paid family leave.

Democrats in Bucks County, including Harvie and Hartnett Albillar, have been branding their messaging on abortion and reproductive rights as affordability issues.

“People are scared about the unsustainable economic path that we are on, and reproductive healthcare is part of that affordability conversation,” she said. “Reproductive healthcare is something we need to ensure we have in order for economic futures for families.”

She pledged that with a Democratic state Senate, abortion rights would be codified.

“The folks that live here are going to determine whether or not we are going to be able to get that trifecta,” she said.

Shapiro’s appearance in Bucks County on Saturday afternoon came after his morning campaign stop in Philadelphia’s Ninth Ward and reflects how the popular governor has spent most of his reelection campaign trying to boost other Democrats across the state.

For instance, in July, he launched “Rise Up Pennsylvania” — an effort that is aimed at pooling donations to fund campaign resources for key state Senate and U.S. congressional races.

Before the door knocking and canvassing around town ensued, Shapiro framed November as an inflection point for Bucks County residents and pondered future conversations between crowd members and their kids or grandkids.

“You’re going to be able to look at them and tell them, ‘in the swingiest town, in the swingiest state, in the entire country, you dedicated yourself to meeting your neighbors ... telling them what’s at stake.’”