Local Democratic candidates seek to energize base as Election Day nears
ADAMS TWP — Democrats in Butler County are taking every measure to energize their base and “turn out the vote” just days away from what is sure to be a compelling conclusion to this year’s presidential election cycle.
Three local Democratic Party candidates running for state office, along with former second lady of Pennsylvania Gisele Fetterman, headlined the Cranberry Area Women for Democracy Rally on Friday evening, Oct. 25 at Adams Ridge Clubhouse.
“This is more to build up the energy and get us through the final days,” county Democratic Party chairwoman Catherine Lalonde said. “There’s a big push for canvassing and what we call chasing the ballots to make sure people return the ballots they requested.”
The rally provided an opportunity for state Senate candidate Kate Lennen, state House 12th District candidate Rob Vigue and 16th Congressional District candidate Preston Nouri to engage with suburban women voters and motivate those constituents through the last leg of what can be a taxing election season.
“The big message for me as a candidate is to just make sure that my name is out there and people know what positions I hold so they can support me if they share those,” Lennen said. “I think everybody in the whole party is just getting out the vote because every vote matters, especially in a county like this that has a lot of support for (Republican presidential candidate Donald) Trump. We can make a difference statewide, so we don’t want people to just sit at home.”
In a county where they’re fighting an uphill battle, Democrats are attempting to pinpoint the issues that matter most while also trying to convince local constituents that they are best equipped to deal with them.
A bulk of that messaging in the closing stretch revolves around a penchant for moving forward on societal and economical issues.
“There’s things on people’s minds, and then there’re things that these candidates can do when they’re elected,” said Democratic County Commissioner Kevin Boozel. “When I work with candidates and I’m getting them ready to do conversational speeches, I tell them ‘Don’t tell them why not to vote for the other person, tell me what you’re going to do.’ They have influences that the next level may not.”
While Democrats nationwide are hyper-focused on saving democracy and women’s rights, one of the issues all three local candidates are locked in on is appropriate educational funding and resources throughout the commonwealth.
“Educational funding needs to be revamped,” Lennen said. “Every child should get a good education regardless of where they live. Certainly in southern Butler County, we have some nice school districts, but that’s not true for all of the county.”
Nouri, who will face off with incumbent U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly R-16th, also took the chance to highlight the issue during his speech.
“We have teachers who are drowning in debt, and they’re still putting their livelihoods behind to make sure that they can educate the next generation,” Nouri told the crowd. “We’re going to make sure teachers can actually have resources they need so their students can have updated materials, so that our schools can actually be accessible for all students, not just a few.”
