Shapiro rallies local voters during campaign visit to the Lebanon Valley

Saying he wanted to end the “chaos, cruelty, and the corruption” in Washington, D.C., Gov. Josh Shapiro brought his gubernatorial re-election campaign to Lebanon County Saturday.

Shapiro rallied the vocal Democratic faithful during a campaign stop at the party’s headquarters in the city.

Shapiro, seeking a second term in Harrisburg during this year’s midterm elections, appeared alongside a handful of local down-ballot Democratic candidates. With him were Rachel Wallace, who is running against Republican incumbent Dan Meuser for the 9th Congressional District seat; Wayne Moyer, who is challenging Republican incumbent Chris Gebhard in the 48th District; and Hugh Darlington, who faces Republican candidate Nicky Woods in the 98th State House District race.

Opposite Shapiro on the ballot this fall is Republican and sitting state treasurer Stacy Garrity.

The 98th seat is open to the two newcomers because incumbent Rep. Tom Jones (R) is running for a seat to represent Lancaster County in the state Senate. The 98th District includes Mount Gretna Borough and South Annville and South Londonderry townships in Lebanon County and sections of northwestern Lancaster County.

“There’s a lot of concern and there’s a whole lot of anger out there. For as much progress as we’re making here in Pennsylvania, I also know that people are scared and angry and just tired of the chaos and the cruelty and the corruption,” Shapiro said to a packed room at the party’s city headquarters at 23 S. 6th St. “Coming from Washington, D.C. Coming from Donald Trump and his enablers like Dan Meuser. And so I’m here to tell you that it’s not just about being angry about that for politics’ sake. Their chaos and their cruelty and their corruption, it’s hurting our communities.” 

Shapiro touched on a number of subjects during comments that lasted just under 20 minutes, including tariffs, the Iran war, healthcare and other social services, and women’s reproductive rights.

On tariffs

“First on the chaos, right? How about the chaos of his tariffs going up? Take a look at the news this morning. Canada, it slaps a 50% tariff on our Canadian neighbors. By the way, Pennsylvania’s No. 1 trading partner,” Shapiro said. “And you know the effect of that is it shuts off markets to our farmers right here in Lebanon. … It makes your groceries cost a whole lot. And heck, if you’re just trying to buy a present for your kid, it makes that cost more. The tariffs that Donald Trump and Dan Meuser put in place are literally just a tax on the American people.”

On the war in Iran

“That war he entered into wrongly. The war he has no idea how to get out of is making our gas at the pump cost at least four bucks a gallon. Driving up the cost of everything from the ride you got to take to get your kid to their classes on time to the airline tickets you’re trying to buy, everything costs more because fuel prices are high because Donald Trump started a war in Iran that he has no idea how to get out of it,” Shapiro said to frequent loud cheers. “It’s chaotic.”

On social services

Shapiro said Trump made a promise to protect Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, and healthcare during his campaign for a second term.

“There is nothing more cruel than going to Washington, D.C., after promising to protect Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security and ripping away healthcare from hard-working Pennsylvanians, from disabled Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro said, noting there are 16,000 people in Lebanon County who are losing or have lost healthcare coverage. “Donald Trump and Dan Meuser thought it was a good idea to give a tax cut to the people at the very top and to pay for it on the backs of people’s healthcare here in Lebanon County, across Pennsylvania.”

Another service program to be cut during Trump’s second term in office is SNAP benefits, according to Shapiro. The Supplemental Nutritious Assistance Program provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford essential foods to benefit their health and well-being.

“You know, it’s even more cruel than ripping away healthcare telling a parent that they won’t be able to feed their kid at night. Because 140,000 Pennsylvanians, including 8,000 here in this community, will no longer have SNAP benefits, will no longer have food assistance, because Trump and Meuser have decided that they thought a tax cut for the people at the very top was more important,” Shapiro said. “That’s chaos, cruelty, and corruption.”

On corruption

Shapiro said voters can’t afford to “look the other way on corruption.”

“It’s bad enough that Donald Trump and his kids made $2.2 billion during his time as president. But understand something. It’s not just about the money that they put in their pockets. It’s the money they’ve taken out of yours, which is the price of that corruption,” Shapiro said. “When he’s sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office, he’s not thinking about how to put money in your pocket. … He’s thinking about how to put money in his own. And so he’s making decisions that work against your interests. I don’t know about you, but I’m done with the chaos.”

Shapiro called Garrity, his opponent, a Trump enabler, saying that she supports tariffs, the bill that cut Medicaid, and the landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.   

“And she still can’t bring herself to acknowledge that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election here in Pennsylvania. I don’t need an enabler here in Pennsylvania occupying the governor’s office. We got more stuff to get done, and we can’t simply have someone there who’s going to be a rubber stamp for Donald Trump,” said Shapiro. “We have to stand up to him as I have as your governor. I gave you my word. I would stand up and defend your fundamental freedoms. That’s why women still have a right to choose.”

On individuals’ rights, ICE detention facilities

“When Trump demanded that I turn over all of the voter votes with more private personal information, I said, ‘Hell no,’” Shapiro said. “He sued me. ‘I’ll see you in court, Mr. President.’”

Shapiro spoke of his opposition to the construction of Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Pennsylvania.

“That’s why when he and my opponent and Meuser wanted to put two massive ICE detention facilities in your district, one in Schuylkill and one in Berks County, I fought them and I won and those detention centers will never come to be,” Shapiro said, which led to loud audience cheering.

On farmland preservation

“We were at Talview Farm together where we announced that we’d preserved more farmland acreage than any other state in the entire country,” Shapiro said. “I came to Lebanon County to work together. I’m gonna be a governor that continues to fight for you to get stuff done for you.”

Local reaction

Roberta Warsaw, a Cornwall Manor resident, said she has campaigned for Democratic candidates every year since 1968, including the last 25 here in Lebanon County.

“He cares about people,” Warsaw said, adding that women’s reproductive rights are a major concern to her.

“I mean, I have been fighting for those for a long time. But nothing’s more fun than going to a rally and having a megaphone. And I do that a lot as a women’s rights activist.”

Kathy and Don Martin of Campbelltown also pointed to women’s reproductive rights and healthcare, among other issues, as reasons for backing Shapiro and Wallace.

“I have a chance to meet Gov. Shapiro and I certainly support him and Rachel Wallace as well,” said Cathy. “He’s done good things for the state of Pennsylvania. We need major changes and she’s (Wallace’s) got a great background and can do the job.”

“First off, her experience with the federal government, both in the Senate, with the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) and the White House, with Tim Holden in the past, who I supported in the past, shows her qualifications and her views on the budget,” Don said. “Her economic views are right in line with traditional Republican views, so she’s the right person. Dan Meuser, unfortunately, is not. He’s showing no regard for the district.”

Don said that Meuser’s refusal to hold town hall meetings with his constituents was bad for democracy.

“Meuser does not meet with the people who live in his district,” Don added, referencing a call for a town hall with the county’s representative in the U.S. House that has been the focus of weekly protests at the Lebanon County municipal building.

Shapiro’s stop in Lebanon was preceded by a visit to Union County and followed by a stop in Berks County.