ALLENTOWN, Pa. — U.S. House of Representatives majority whip Rep. Tom Emmer came to Allentown to push Republican support for State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and the rest of the GOP in the final stretch of election season on Saturday.
Volunteers, supporters, and fellow politicians packed the basement of 1125 S. Cedar Crest Blvd. on Nov. 2 as Mackenzie, Emmer, and others rallied the troops just days away from a monumental election, doubling down on the opposition’s pitfalls and preparing for the final push via door knocking and phone calls.
Speakers emphasized that Mackenzie is “obviously for the people of [Pennsylvania’s seventh congressional district],” that he has proven himself during his time in the House, and that he will parlay that work ethic into a congressional seat.
“We need to get the House majority, the Senate majority, and Donald Trump back in the White House to make the real deal, and we have been working very hard throughout this campaign, getting our message out there on about what we would do differently ...."7th Congressional District Republican candidate Rep. Ryan Mackenzie
Lehigh County Republican Committee Chairman Joe Vichot lauded the accomplishments of local Republicans over the last few months, detailing that our voter registration numbers are through the roof,” and that early voting among Republicans has increased substantially.
“So with you guys at all working on that, helping us with that, with you out there, door knocking with them, pushing people to vote early has been a huge success,” Vichot said.
“Where it was like three to one [Democrat versus Republicans] in 2020, we were losing big going into the election, we've already cut that down to 1.77 to one, which is going to continue on election day. We're going to have a big victory on election day.”
Mackenzie stressed the importance of engaging with undecided voters over the weekend, claiming Congresswoman Susan Wild has failed her constituents in the realm of direct engagement.
“We need to get the House majority, the Senate majority and Donald Trump back in the White House to make the real deal, and we have been working very hard throughout this campaign, getting our message out there on about what we would do differently to improve our economy, control the southern border and bring peace back to the world, because right now, on all three of those fronts, Susan Wild, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, they've all failed us, and we see it,” Mackenzie said.
Mackenzie shared an anecdote about a Gold Star family whose veteran son committed suicide, who Mackenzie claimed told him they had tried multiple times to meet with Wild to discuss PTSD among servicemen and women, “and their office never even returned a phone call.”
“And so I just want to say that, you know, as disheartening as that is, I am optimistic that we are on the verge of change here in the Lehigh Valley, and we can really turn things around with all of your help,” Mackenzie said.
Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Guy Reschenthaler introduced Emmer as someone “like your favorite high school sports coach,” a man prone to inspire crowds into action.
Emmer, a Minnesotan, opened by reassuring the crowd “my governor is a lot worse than your governor” before praising J.D. Vance’s performance against Tim Walz at the vice-presidential debate.
Emmer suggested Harris has since distanced herself from Walz, and subsequently, her campaign has been “falling.” At the same time, he added, “Donald Trump's campaign has been going up” before stating “
“So in addition to you talking to your family, your friends, your neighbors and your coworkers, now is the time to stand up, speak up and cast your vote to make your voice heard. And you're going to vote Republican. And if we do this job, guess what? You and I, we're going to elect Ryan Mackenzie as the next representative from the 7th Congressional District. We're going to elect Dave McCormick as the next U.S. senator from the state of Pennsylvania. And you and I, we're going to send Donald J. Trump back to the White House,” Emmer said to a round of cheers and applause.
On the Democratic campaign front in the region, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark will join Susan Wild for a canvass launch at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, in Bethlehem.
According to the United States Senate website, “Traditionally serving as assistant leaders, whips are mainly responsible for counting heads and rounding up party members for votes and quorum calls, and they occasionally stand in for the majority or minority leaders in their absence.”
