PENN TWP — Republican candidates in several local and state races gave their pitches for office at the Butler County Republican Committee Fall Dinner on Friday night.

But while candidates pitched their positions, three keynote speakers suggested the election is more than just winning a race against Democrats: It’s about holding America together.

Christine Toretti is a former CEO of an oil drilling company who has held several positions with the Republican National Committee. She recently was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as a U.S. ambassador to Malta.

Toretti told those who attended the dinner at Butler Country Club that she has stopped watching television because of today’s political climate.

“I’m tired of people lying,” Toretti said. “I don’t believe any of the (news) networks.”

Toretti said she was invited to dine at Monticello — Thomas Jefferson’s home — last weekend.

As one of just 40 people who are invited each year, she wanted to fully appreciate the experience. Specifically, she wanted to understand Jefferson’s volatile relationship with John Adams.

After listening to an audiotape that described the character assassinations Jefferson and Adams carried out on each other, Toretti quickly drew comparisons to today’s politics.

“It was as bad as it is today,” Toretti said. “It was horrible.”

But, Toretti said, that doesn’t make it right.

Though she is conservative, Toretti said she has good friends across the aisle.

And while she sticks to her beliefs, she believes in the ability of voters to work together for the good of the nation.

“Because we’re Americans,” Toretti said. “We care about our country.”

Bill Adams founded Adams Manufacturing, the largest producer of patio furniture in North America. During the dinner, Adams spoke about the Portersville company’s work-release program.

By helping convicted criminals get back into the job market, Adams hopes to promote local manufacturing jobs and the economy.

“Most of these people were in jail because they were … drug addicts,” Adams said.

Adams said inmates who work for Adams Manufacturing can get raises. The money they earn goes into a special account, which they can access when they get out of jail.

“It pays off tens of thousands of dollars in child support,” Adams said. “It pays off legal bills.”

Most importantly, Adams added, it helps many former inmates stay out of debt.

It’s forgotten, blue-collar groups like this that voted Trump into office, according to journalist and political analyst Salena Zito.

“This is a lot about culture,” Zito said at the dinner. “(Trump’s) just the result of it. He’s not the cause of it.”

After driving almost 28,000 miles of backroads-America to understand the “Trump voter” during the 2016 election, Zito discovered Republicans had a new populist coalition.

Many voters lost faith in the Republican Party in the years leading up to election of President Barrack Obama. But Trump inspired a new form of voter.

Zito found this in Iowa, where the majority of Republican caucusgoers had him listed as their fourth nominee.

“(They said), ‘He’s not a nice guy, but he’s mean enough to go to the mattress for us,” Zito said.

When she traveled through Pennsylvania’s 67 counties the summer before the election, Zito found a surprising number of Trump supporters.

“All different archetypes,” Zito said.

She also was surprised at the number of homemade pro-Trump signs she saw across the state. She even encountered a horse with “Trump” written on its side.

Zito sometimes is asked what has changed since the 2016 election. She has a single answer.

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Zito said. “This coalition isn’t going away. This is what the Republican Party is.”

Toretti encouraged Republican voters to vote for their candidates.

But when ballots are cast and tallies are made, one thing remains, according to Toretti: Every voter is still an American.

“Work like hell to get your candidate elected,” Toretti said. “But (then) come back together.”