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PA-6: Parrish Announces Candidacy, Releases New Video


With the recent upheaval of Rep. Gerlach’s retirement in the PA-6 race, Democratic candidate Mike Parrish is trying to seize the moment with a new biographical web video.

Parrish, the only declared Democratic candidate before Gerlach’s announcement, formally announces his campaign in the new ad. The spot seeks to highlight Parrish’s service to his country and his experience in the economy.

Parrish
Parrish

Parrish filmed the ad in Valley Forge, literally standing in front of cannons, as he describes his family’s history of military service. Parrish graduated from West Point and served in the Gulf War.

Additionally, Parrish also received his Master’s from Stanford and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. For the last decade, he has worked in the private sector working on environmental infrastructure. He is currently the CEO of Daleco Resources Corporation, which is located in West Chester.

The primary focus of the video is on how Parrish’s experience in the military and private sector gave him the skills necessary to get Congress and the economy working again.

“Congress refuses to take on the tough fights. There is no excuse for shutting down the government instead of coming up with solutions,” Parrish states. “My father always taught me to ‘put up, or shut up.’ And, that’s why I’m running for Congress, to hold Washington accountable – to our veterans, our seniors, and our economy.”

 “We need to invest in our young people, improve our schools, and create an environment where small businesses can thrive again. Because that’s how you create jobs.”

Pennsylvania’s Sixth Congressional District is a toss-up seat with a Cook Political Index rating of R+2. Parrish tailored the video to the independent nature of the district by emphasizing his experience with the economy and his call to balance the budget while avoiding calling himself a Democrat and sticking to issues that are broadly supported by the electorate.

Parrish has a headstart in this race, since he decided to run before Gerlach even announced his retirement. His campaign raised $100,000 during the final two weeks of 2013.

 

9 Responses

  1. Of course a military veteran west point grad current colonel in the reserves and successful business executive would not be acceptable to the extremist leftist dominated democratic party. The republicans continue to win witness the victories of successful private sector businesspeople farrell, costello, & aichele , hanna etc for commissioner over the 2nd d candidate time after time.

  2. Someone please tell me this is a cruel joke? Is this some covert, classified mission by the Republican Party in DC to sneak one of their own into the house disguised as a Democrat?

    Let’s sort some things out about REPUBLICAN Michael Parrish. First and foremost, as it was mentioned in previous posts, Republican Mike has a long track record of voting for Republican candidates. On top of that, he as gave THOUSANDS of dollars to Republican campaigns in the past; this isn’t your good ol’ grandpa giving his $5 donation to help the cause, this dude clearly wanted Republican candidates to win.

    Now given Republican Mike’s record (and the fact he just became a Democrat 3 weeks ago), would you consider him a strong, democratic candidate? A Mitt Romney-lookalike in his own right, Republican Michael Parrish is a wealthy businessman who is looking to fund part, if not most, of his own election campaign (sound familiar?). Can he be trusted to side with Democrats in congress on hard-line issues concerning the economy, healthcare, and the troops overseas? I’m no historian, but looking at his past, I’m not overly confident.

    As the old saying goes: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

    Don’t let Republican Michael Parrish hijack the Democratic Party in SE PA.

  3. It seems like Mr.Parrish may be the second coming of Arlen Specter, he saw the writing on the wall and decided to switch parties from Republican to Democrat. Who is to say that once elected or sometime down the road that he won’t switch back to the GOP? He is not even in office and already he has got the making of a congressman by not being honest with his potential constituents by pretending to be a Democrat. The PA-6th needs a Democratic candidate who is not afraid to run for what they believe in rather then running on a platform that they don’t believe in but may get them elected. How can we trust a man who donated to John McCain, Tom Corbett, and even Mitt Romney yet decided to switch parties? I say if Mr. Parrish wants to run for congress he should do so as Republican because that’s what he is and despite what he may claim that probably will never change.

  4. I think it is a disgrace that the state of the Democratic party in SE PA has sunk so low that we are now flipping Republicans to get a candidate. I grew up in a township not far from this district and I can remember when Democrats were practically an endangered species. Today, my old town is staunchly in the blue. Dems have made such incredible strides that to see us backing a Republican makes me worry about the future of the party in the entire region. This is a man who donated thousands of dollars to both McCain and Romney for Pete’s sake! I have to believe that we can do better than a Republican like Mike Parrish. If we’re going to vote Democrat, then we deserve to elect a Democrat!

  5. Parrish could win a general, but can he win a primary against the msnbc loving left wing types that vote in primaries. If the dems fo left, forget about it.

  6. We will have another candidate. The candidate has the wow factor. The candidate has a great record and no baggage. Fellow Dems should keep their powder dry and not commit until they see the whole field

  7. The reasons Parrish won’t win is because he was an actual Republican until December, and donated to Corbett, McCain and Romney. It will be the mirror image of Steve Welch trying to run as a Republican, except Steve had more going for him to prove he was actually a Republican.

    Here is what I guaranteed happened. Democrats in DC figured that Gerlach was unbeatable, so they recruited a business moderate who could self-fund a bit and had a good profile. That’s why Hoyer was going to come to a fundraiser for him. Then unexpectedly Gerlach drops out, and they see an open-seat R+2 as gettable — in fact needed if they want to take back the house. So they start approaching more viable candidates — like Leslie Richards — who might have been prone to take a pass against Gerlach but would be interested in an open seat.

  8. He”avoided” calling himself a Democrat, because he is not one. Look at his voting and donations record – Straight R’s until he flipped his registration last month, like a good opportunist (anyone remember John Lawless?). Steny Hoyer is backing him so he can get some more Blue Dogs who will bark at his command. A couple of Republicans who are lying about whom they will serve. They need to exit PA politics.

  9. a candidate Parrish’s background will never make it through the Democrat primary. John Kennedy would not win a primary in today’s extremist left Democratic party.

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