ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick held a meet and greet Tuesday afternoon at the Syrian Arab American Charity Association’s food bank, where he fielded questions from Lehigh Valley Republicans and members of the local Arab community.
About two dozen people attended the event, including local Republican leaders, such as state Rep. Zach Mako, R-Lehigh/Northampton, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan and Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hanna, who is president of the nonpartisan association that hosted the event.
Former Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin also attended and introduced McCormick, who is a former hedge fund CEO and combat veteran endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
"He’s a great leader and that’s something that I think really distinguishes him from his opponent."Former Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin
“He’s a great leader and that’s something that I think really distinguishes him from his opponent,” Martin said.
McCormick is challenging three-term U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who he worked to tie to President Joe Biden’s administration several times throughout the hour-long conversation as he called the Democratic Party “extreme” and “out of step” with Pennsylvania, an important swing state in the upcoming presidential election.
Stances on conflict in Gaza, Social Security
The Senate hopeful opened the event by speaking about his wife, Dina, an Egyptian immigrant, and his time traveling in Syria after serving as a paratrooper in the First Gulf War. He then moved on to speaking about the importance of the upcoming election for Republicans, who are looking to gain control of the White House and the Senate.
McCormick, who served as Under Secretary of Treasury and Deputy National Security Advisor during President George W. Bush’s administration, said he supports “common sense” policy.
If elected, he plans to cut overspending, unlock Pennsylvania’s energy sector and stop the flow of “illegal immigrants” and fentanyl over the Southern U.S. border, he said.
When asked about the conflict in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terrorist attack in Israel, McCormick said innocent civilians are being hurt by the Israeli response because of the difficulty of urban combat and because Hamas has successfully integrated itself into schools and hospitals.
“If you’re Israel and you’re trying to get to Hamas, it’s a very difficult thing to do without civilian casualties,” he said. “I think Hamas is the source of the evil that led to this, and you have to hopefully destroy Hamas.”
Abraham Gawad, board member for the Syrian Arab American Charity Association, pushed back on McCormick’s response.
"If 25 people came from Detroit and they murdered someone, do you think you go and blow up Detroit?"Abraham Gawad, board member for the Syrian Arab American Charity Association
“If 25 people came from Detroit and they murdered someone, do you think you go and blow up Detroit?” Gawad said.
The two ultimately agreed to disagree, and McCormick said the suffering of both Israeli victims from Oct. 7 and innocent civilians in Gaza is “heartbreaking.”
When asked about the future of Social Security, McCormick said the system is essential, especially for seniors, and he would find other areas to cut spending, such as subsidies for solar panels and electric vehicles.
Pennsylvania Democrats issued a statement last month that coincided with the 89th anniversary of Social Security claiming McCormick will put the program on the chopping block, citing comments from his 2022 Senate campaign.
Still, McCormick said Tuesday that he “will not touch” Social Security.
‘Law and Order’: Support for police
When asked about the “demonization” of police officers, McCormick touted his statewide endorsement from the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, which had endorsed Casey and Democrats in previous elections.
“There’s nothing more important to a society than having fundamental law and order,” McCormick said.
He added that slashed police budgets have made urban areas more dangerous.
Evan Weaver, the Allentown police officer who asked the question, said McCormick’s response was “spot on,” and he plans to vote for him.
“We need bigger budgets. We need better training budgets,” Weaver said. “We need better benefits for the police.
“But we also need the support of politicians to actually go out there and have our backs in the wake of all the woke stuff that’s been going on,” he said.
Southern U.S. border and inflation
McCormick also spoke about securing the Southern U.S. border by building a wall and said he supports funding for border patrol. If elected, McCormick said he would vote to designate the cartels as a terrorist organization.
On inflation, McCormick said Republicans and Democrats are spending too much, which he argues is to blame for rising food prices. He also said gas prices are rising because of the “war on fossil fuels,” adding there are too many restrictions on natural gas.
Linda Swankoski, vice chair of the Lehigh County Republican Committee, attended McCormick’s event and said she likes that he’s a “family man” with military experience. (McCormick has six daughters.)
Swankoski said inflation and border control are both important issues to her.
It’s “heartbreaking” to see senior citizens who’ve worked their whole lives struggling to afford food, she added.
“I don’t know what this world is coming to if we continue to not help our own citizens, but yet help the immigrants who are coming in illegally,” she said.
Swankoski said she’s trying to combat misinformation about McCormick and help him win on Nov. 5 in an election that McCormick said is critical.
“We hear it every election,” he said. “But this election, I think actually, is the most important election of our lifetimes.”
