GOP Senate Debate Recap

It was a night notable for who was present, who was not, and who was booed as GOP candidates for U.S. Senate met for a debate at Villanova.

Jeff Bartos, Kathy Barnette, George Bochetto and Everett Stern attended the debate. Mehmet Oz, David McCormick and Carla Sands did not.

Here are some of the highlights of the debate, courtesy of the live tweeting of Marley Parish and the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

How to Keep Graduates in PA

Bochetto: “Students follow jobs … you want a good job, and in order to keep students in this area, we need to provide good jobs, attract good jobs, improve the environment that businesses want to do business here.”

The Energy Agenda and America’s National Security Interests

Bartos: “We have political tourists running in this campaign. People who don’t live in Pennsylvania … we cannot elect a senator from Pennsylvania who does not know this commonwealth … the political tourists running in this campaign … they don’t live here.”

Appealing to Blue-Collar Workers While Resisting Big Labor

Barnette: “When you’re living in an environment where businesses are being shuttered … what we’re seeing … are a number of people who have traditionally leaned Democrat” are having buyer’s remorse.

Bochetto: “Why are labor and why are blue collar coming more and more to the Republican Party? They know, they see the Republican Party favors policies that support and reinforce jobs, high-paying jobs, and quality of life.”

Stern, talking about police says: “We make sure we don’t attack them on the Capitol on a certain holiday … we should also leave them alone, and let them do their job.”

He says people are leaving the party “in droves” because of extremism.

Bartos: “We need high-quality, excellent education for everybody in the commonwealth … we have underfunded, and not defunded, but we have underfunded the skills needed for … any of the skilled labor positions.”

Are We In an Immigration Crisis?

Barnette: “You’re not a sovereign nation if you’re not under control of your border. There is nothing racist about wanting to know about who is coming into our country … it is about sovereignty.”

Bartos says sanctuary cities will not be allowed to exist in Pennsylvania.

Views on the Filibuster

Stern says he supports it for a different reason compared to the other candidates, adding that the filibuster is meant for compromise.

Retaining Support from the Base and Appealing to Democrats

Bochetto: “I understand what’s important, not just to Republicans, but also to sensible-thinking Democrats.”

Stern: “What we have to do is change the party and make a significant difference in how the party is behaving. And again, the party has to understand that we’re not defined by a man.”

Bartos: “I’ve been on every main street, helping those businesses when no one was paying attention.”

Barnette says the majority of her family, with the exception of her husband, are Democrats.

“We have a number of people who are coming over into the Republican Party … people will come. We have the best story to tell.”

6 Responses

  1. Good phrase, “Political Tourist.” Bartos is a contender and would make a good Senator.

    1. I’m a Democrat so just observing from the outside, but I doubt many GOP primary voters will get excited about a generic establishment Republican like Bartos. I will be surprised if he even gets 10%.

  2. Everett Stern was the big stinker in the debate because he believes he does not need to work with the people. He believes he just needs to work with the politicians in Washington D.C. The United States of America goes beyond Washington D.C. Jeff Bartos was unafraid to call David McCormick a globalist, and he also called out both David McCormick and Dr. Mehmet Oz for failing to show up to the debate. Kathy Barnette was unafraid to say anything that was wrong with our country, and called out the 3 carpetbaggers, David McCormick, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Carla Sands, for failing to show up for the second straight primary debate. If McCormick, Oz, and Sands miss out on any more debates, they will lose.

  3. Best quote hands down by a mile:
    Bartos: “We have political tourists running in this campaign. People who don’t live in Pennsylvania … we cannot elect a senator from Pennsylvania who does not know this commonwealth … the political tourists running in this campaign … they don’t live here.”

  4. How could there be “highlights” at a GOP debate? Did somebody fall off the stage? Who quit, after admitting Trump is an ignorant ass?

Email:
  • Will tonight's U.S. Senate debate affect your decision?


    • No. I've already decided on how to cast my vote. (81%)
    • Yes. Anxious to hear from both candidates (19%)

    Total Voters: 27

    Loading ... Loading ...
Continue to Browser

PoliticsPA

To install tap and choose
Add to Home Screen