Pennsylvania Democrats Question Trump-Pence 'Love Affair' With Beaver Co.
FREEDOM, Pa. (KDKA) -- Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Beaver County puts a spotlight on a county that Donald Trump carried by more than 18 points four years ago.
Winning Beaver County again is why both the president and vice president keep coming back. Beaver County is majority Democratic and votes statewide for Democrats like Bob Casey, Tom Wolf and Eugene DePasquale. But Trump's big win over Hillary Clinton in the county gives his campaign hope for a repeat in 2020.
"There's a lot of Democrats and Independents here that didn't just vote for the president, but they're enthusiastic about the president," Beaver County Republican Party chair Jim Christiana told KDKA political editor Jon Delano on Wednesday.
Christiana says he expects Pres. Trump to win even bigger this year and that is why the president and vice president keep visiting the county.
"It's a two-way love affair," Christiana said. "I think Beaver County has a love affair with the president and the vice president and their administration. And yes, it seems the president and vice president enjoy coming to Beaver County."
But not so fast, says Beaver County Democratic Party chair Terri Mitko. Mitko says Beaver County was sold a bill of goods by Trump four years ago.
"He has not kept his promises," she said. "We have lost hundreds and hundreds of family-sustaining jobs in Beaver County since Trump took over. That's the reality."
Mitko says Beaver County Democrats won't be fooled again and even some Republicans are switching to Joe Biden.
"People who are fed up with what's going on in the Republican Party, particularly with the politics there, with the state of the economy in Beaver County and with the shenanigans that are going on in the White House," Mitko said.
Neither Biden nor Kamala Harris has campaigned yet in Beaver County, but Mitko says to stay tuned.
