The longtime Democratic mayor of a serious metropolis in one in every of Pennsylvania’s most swing counties mentioned he believes the GOP and the Trump marketing campaign are connecting higher with voters on this shut race than the vice chairman and her marketing campaign are.
“In the one commercial where Kamala Harris is saying, ‘Well, that’s Bidenomics,’ I think that is hurting this because I think the Trump campaign has done a much better job of saying ‘things are really bad.’”
Easton is the county seat of Northampton County, about 70 miles north of Philadelphia. It flipped from voting for former President Donald Trump in 2016 to President Biden in 2020.
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Panto, a preferred, reasonable Democrat who has served six phrases in workplace over two nonconsecutive intervals since 1984, added that when his social gathering identifies one thing Trump says that’s unfaithful, they need to drill down on it.
“I know in running my own campaigns it’s easier to embellish the negative rather than the positive. And that’s what I think [Trump] is doing very well. I mean, we know that he lies about things, and we prove that he lies, but then it drops. And I don’t think they should let it drop,” he mentioned.
“I get more of that on the Stephen Colbert show at night than I do from the Kamala Harris campaign. I think she should be pointing out that his 2025 plan is much different than her plan. And she’s not afraid to talk about her plan. He hasn’t said ‘boo’ about his.”
Easton is likely one of the three cities – together with Allentown and Bethlehem – that make up the varied and electorally essential Lehigh Valley of the Keystone State.
Allentown is the biggest – and the third such in Pennsylvania – whereas bi-county Bethlehem was lengthy recognized for its metal mills and in any other case as a leafy school city that embraces its “Christmas City” identification each winter.
Easton, going through Phillipsburg, New Jersey, throughout the Delaware River, is a multifaceted metropolis house to Lafayette School, the Crayola firm, a number of historic websites and some well-known individuals, together with former boxing champion Larry Holmes.
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The Centre Sq. at third and Northampton Streets in Easton, Pennsylvania. (Reuters)
Panto mentioned School Hill, the place Lafayette is situated, was as soon as a Republican stronghold – although not a right-wing one per se – throughout his earlier phrases in workplace.
“Today, Democrats and Republicans are 50-50,” he mentioned, as Democrats on the town lean conservative, and Republicans lean reasonable within the vein of the world’s former Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa.
That voting bloc is essential for each top-tier candidates this 12 months, and each Harris and Trump have welcomed members of one another’s events into their folds.
Harris just lately welcomed the endorsement of former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and whereas in workplace, Trump celebrated party-switches by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.
In that regard, Panto mentioned political extremes damage each events, and that School Hill’s “liberal Republicans” and town’s reasonable Democrats tended to enrich with one another in Easton’s case.
“I don’t believe in the fringes. I think the fringes are hurting both political parties … I believe the economy is going to be the biggest thing [this election],” he mentioned.
“Inflation is down, interest rates are down and investments are up. But that’s not the message. I think Democrats are very poor at messaging. I think Donald Trump is much better at messaging, and it’s always easier to be divisive and talk about the negative. People like to hear the negative. They don’t like to hear the positive.”
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Easton, Pennsylvania, is seen from above the previous Lehigh Valley Railroad viaduct on town’s South Facet. (Reuters)
With its swing standing, the Lehigh Valley has change into festooned with billboards, significantly for Harris and lots of by third-party PACs or supporters, together with alongside Interstate 78 and US-22, which see hundreds of commuters and vacationers per day.
“I never ran a national campaign, so I know you pick out your points, and you’ve got to just experiment. But I see the billboards in the Lehigh Valley, and they say Kamala Harris voted for [increasing the] minimum wage. Minimum wage doesn’t matter,” he mentioned.
“Nobody’s paid minimum wage because you can’t get employees. The unemployment rate is down to 2.1%. I mean, [what] they need to talk about in the Valley is lowering the price of goods … not increasing the minimum wage.”
He famous that with the formerly-industrial Lehigh Valley’s rebirth as a business middle for warehousing and the like, there are labor jobs paying greater than $23 per hour no matter federal minimums.
The election will seemingly come right down to GOTV or “get out the vote” efforts by the campaigns, Panto predicted.
He quipped that when he’s up for re-election, his critics are sometimes very energized to vote – and that that dynamic of voting “against” somebody is just not very best the least bit.
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“That’s not a reason to vote. The reason to vote is a vote for the best person. And I think if you look at the experience and the vision, Kamala Harris should win,” he mentioned.
