First-time candidate looking to win 12th District
CRANBERRY TWP — Daniel Smith Jr. knows he faces a tough challenge this fall.
The first-time candidate will challenge incumbent Daryl Metcalfe for the 12th Legislative District seat, one Metcalfe has held for nearly two decades. Over that period, he's faced few legitimate challenges.
Smith, however, believes possesses the things needed to defeat Metcalfe: passion for the work, a strategic plan to speak with every potential voter in the district and the benefit of history on his side. This, he said, separates him those who have challenged Metcalfe in the past.
“Not to say past competitors did bad job — they did not,” Smith said. “But we've been able to speak with them and pinpoint items they didn't accomplish and focus on that, and that's exactly what I've been implementing.”
According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of State and the Butler County Bureau of Elections, Metcalfe has faced seven general election challenges, including his first victory in 1998.
Meanwhile, Smith earned the right to face Metcalfe after defeating Honora Rockar for the Democratic nomination in May. Smith defeated Rockar 1,494 to 920, earning 62 percent of the vote. Rockar won seven of the 22 precincts in the district, all of which were in Cranberry Township.
Smith and his political adviser Mitch Kates believe those numbers and that history can be misleading.
“This is not a partisan election where a Democrat is fighting against a Republican,” Kates said. “This election is very much a non-partisan event.”
He said while historically Metcalfe's seat may have been considered safe, Metcalfe's partisan practices have frustrated voters. He pointed to a recent comment by Metcalfe in which he said he would not consider or advance any Democrat legislation through the House State Government Committee, which he chairs.
Smith said he has seen and heard the frustration of voters first-hand while going door-to-door in the district over the past several months. He said he has spoken with residents of all affiliations, and the most common feedback he has received is that voters are tired of party politics. He said having lived in the district his entire life, he's noticed the change in tone in recent years.
“As simply as I can put it, I can honestly tell you this political atmosphere is totally different from past election cycles,” he said.
Smith said he will continue to work as hard as he can until November to hear what people of the district have to say, and will hopefully convince them to cast their vote for him.
“I'm running as an aggravated constituent,” he said. “The people of the area ... are wanting to be heard.”
Read Sunday's Cranberry Eagle to learn more about Smith and how he plans to win in.
