Wash staffBy Andrew Fung
PHILADELPHIA 鈥斅燗s Pennsylvanians prepared to cast their votes in the state鈥檚 closely watched gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections, voters and political leaders across the aisle expressed concern about the state of democracy.
Speaking to thousands of supporters at a rally on Saturday afternoon, high-profile Democrats painted a dark picture of Republicans鈥� attempts to deny election outcomes and implored voters to fight back.
Former president Barack Obama said, 鈥渨hen democracy withers, it鈥檚 hard to restore,鈥� warning listeners that 鈥渢hings won鈥檛 be OK on their own 鈥� they鈥檒l be OK if we work for it.鈥� President Joe Biden said bluntly that 鈥渄emocracy is on the ballot,鈥� a sentiment echoed by other speakers, including Democratic candidates John Fetterman, the lieutenant governor running for a U.S. Senate seat, and Josh Shapiro, the attorney general running to be governor.
For voters planning to support their Republican rivals, Dr. Mehmet Oz for Senate, and Doug Mastriano for governor, worried about election fraud and fears that Democrats would steal elections were top of mind. At a rally for Mastriano in South Philadelphia on Sunday evening 鈥� 聽attended by about 150 supporters 鈥攕everal attendees criticized Democrats鈥� opposition to voting security restrictions.
Connie Winters, a Pennsylvania ward leader, said she was concerned about the country’s direction and said that additional measures for election security were needed.
鈥淭he Democrats are trying to paint the Republicans as wanting to ruin democracy by having an honest vote,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd we don鈥檛 agree with that at all.鈥�
A New York Times/Siena College found that 71 percent of voters said democracy was at risk, with a majority saying that the opposing party was 鈥渁 major threat to democracy.鈥� In this cycle, most GOP nominees have joined former President Trump in .
On Saturday afternoon, many attendees of the Democrats鈥� rally listed democracy and voting rights as a top concern for them in the election, too.
鈥淚nflation will come and go 鈥� democracy once it鈥檚 gone, you might not get it back,鈥� said Deb Zimmerman, a Pennsylvanian and local elected official.
And John Brown, a Fetterman and Shapiro supporter, said voting rights were the most important issue; the right to vote lays the foundation for solving 鈥渋ssues like climate change, combating gun violence, a higher minimum wage.鈥�
For several supporters of democratic candidates, events over the past several years drove them to switch parties. Zimmerman described how until 2017, she was an independent voter but decided after Trump鈥檚 election to change her registration to the Democratic party to be able to vote in the party鈥檚 primaries.
Michele Roby, a teacher and school board member who brought her two children to the rally, expressed a similar sentiment about moving towards democratic candidates. 鈥淧revious to the prior administration, I just looked at individual candidates and what their position was, but with the turn that the world has taken, you just have to go straight blue at this point.鈥�
Add comment