With four weeks until the midterm election, Chanea Davis said it’s no surprise that Republicans are bringing big party names to Pennsylvania to stump on their behalf. Many of the commonwealth’s congressional races could flip the majority in the US House.
“It tells you that the Republican party sees how important our area actually is and how much is at stake,” said Davis, electoral communications manager for CASA in Action. “Now they are panicking.”
Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson visited Pennsylvania this week to rally behind Republican candidates Rob Bresnahan, Scott Perry, and Ryan Mackenzie, as the party faces increasingly competitive races across the state.
To organizers on the ground, Johnson’s appearance is a sign Republicans know they have a problem and are making a late push to win back voters who are frustrated with rising costs, cuts to federal programs, and policies affecting their communities.
“It’s a last-ditch effort to smooth things over with their constituents,” said Jessica Brittain, organizing director for Action Together NEPA.
Johnson in NEPA
Johnson spoke in front of about 100 people Tuesday inside a garage at DeAngelo Contracting Services in Hazelton. During the event, Johnson criticized the Democratic Party, calling Democrats Marxist ideologues who will do away with small business and private property. A Keystone Newsroom fact check finds no evidence of any of those claims.
Johnson also threw his support behind Bresnahan, who faces Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti in November.
Brittain said residents in the 8th Congressional District are not necessarily responding to Republican arguments that Democrats are responsible for the country’s problems.
“I don’t get the sense that folks are buying that Dems are crazy and it’s their fault it’s bad,” Brittain said. “People are feeling it’s bad when they go to buy their groceries and when they go to buy their gas.”
Rising costs, she said, are particularly significant in communities that have also been dealing with the rapid growth of data centers.
“Our communities have been hit so hard with data center developments and all the ways those developers are trying to take advantage of our local area,” Brittain said.
Bresnahan has said he is an advocate for greater local control over data center development, but Brittain pointed out that his actions don’t match his message. For example, Bresnahan has investments in data centers.
“He is literally saying the local community should have more control and then buying stock in data centers,” Brittain said. “He says one thing and does another.”
Brittain said voters are also paying attention to the broader consequences of Republican policies, including cuts affecting healthcare.
“When you have someone doing that, people catch on and they are already angry to have someone say they are on your side despite cutting your healthcare and despite selling out your communities to data centers,” she said.
That is why, Brittain said, Johnson’s appearance may not have the impact Republicans hope it will.
“I think people are beyond frustrated with rising costs,” she said.
Johnson joins Perry in Harrisburg
Johnson threw his support behind Perry as well while visiting Harrisburg University to commemorate National Manufacturing Week. Perry is preparing for a Nov. 3 rematch against Democrat Janelle Stelson.
Davis said Johnson’s visit itself demonstrates how important the district has become to Republicans. Perry only defeated Stelson in 2024 by a little over 5,000 votes.
“It’s not a coincidence, they are realizing it’s a competitive race,” she said.
Davis said she speaks with voters in the 10th Congressional District daily and the concerns she hears the most deal with basic household finances. Families are struggling with the cost of groceries while facing changes to programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.
“A lot of families are struggling right now,” Davis said. “People are working hard to just afford the basic needs.”
Perry voted in favor of Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which instituted cuts to federal safety net programs. He’s also supported the war in Iran which has driven up gas prices.
“Scott Perry has represented this area for more than a decade,” Davis said. “The people in central PA have every right to look at where their families are today and to have him answer for that.”
Davis said local concerns extend beyond the cost of living to a new issue: immigration enforcement. She said some people are afraid to leave their homes because of the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“ICE is everywhere,” Davis said. “People are afraid to leave their homes to just go to the grocery store.”
Davis said one voter told her he had “never seen this level of hate and discrimination against Latinos before in the Harrisburg area.”
She said voters are looking for candidates who will address the problems they are experiencing rather than relying on a late campaign appearance from national party leadership.
“These are real issues that real people have to deal with,” Davis said. “It is not okay for Scott Perry to not be in the area and then show up with Johnson. You can’t fool our communities in the last inning.”
