Congressional candidates: 'There's so much on the line'
Before President Donald Trump delivered his speech Saturday at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, a few Republicans relevant to the county preluded him.
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, who said electing Trump in 2016 was the best decision, especially for Butler County residents and workers.
Kelly pointed to his work alongside Trump to help A.K. Steel and to the support Trump offers to Marcellus Shale. This came hours before Trump echoed many of these same focuses in his own speech.
Kelly emphasized how important it was for everyone to vote for the only sitting president to ever visit his hometown county.
“No other person of this stature have come into our town,” he said. “Donald Trump is you. Donald Trump is us. Donald Trump is America.”
Kelly is being challenged by Kristy Gnibus, a Democrat from Erie County.
Also making an appearance was U.S. Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, R-15th, who spoke less about his own campaign, and largely directed his time at rallying the crowd behind the president's reelection campaign.
“There's so much on the line,” Thompson said. “I'm going to use every moment, every second to make sure we have Trump back in the white house.”
Sean Parnell was the third candidate who county residents, particularly in the Cranberry area, will see on the ballot Tuesday.
A U.S. veteran, Parnell talked about his own campaign and how it all started because the president believed in him. He also talked of his service and about protecting the country alongside with the help of Trump.
In response to parts of Parnell's speech, people chanted “U.S.A.”
“That is a beautiful sound,” he said. “May God continue to bless the United States of America.
