BETHLEHEM, Pa. – AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME!
With the summer season unofficially over, political campaigns are ramping up their messaging as the election cycle enters its last leg. The perfect encapsulation of this may be the first ever Republican National Committee midterm convention that started Wednesday.
President Donald Trump was scheduled to be the keynote speaker last night, and Vice President JD Vance is on deck to close the event this evening.
While a national convention is typically a must-attend event for any ambitious politico, many high-profile candidates are skipping the event in Dallas in favor of campaigning at home. Major outlets are reporting that approximately half of the Republicans in the U.S. House will not be in attendance.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie was non-committal last week about attending the convention, but he’s slated to appear as a speaker this evening. Political scientist Chris Borick second-guessed the decision in this week’s episode of Political Pulse, noting the president’s waning popularity and whether the convention will be viewed as a success.
“If I was advising him, I would probably say, ‘You know, I have to be back in the 7th doing some stuff. Thank you so much for the invitation.’ I am a little surprised that he’s going,” Borick said.
Reporter Tom Shortell acknowledged the risks but pointed out the potential benefits. Mackenzie is already closely associated with Trump, so another tie is unlikely to change voter opinions. But by participating, Mackenzie may grease the wheels to funding from Trump’s campaign war chest.
“This is going to be an incredibly expensive race, and the president is sitting on a veritable gold mine. You want to be in the president’s good graces to keep that money flowing,” Shortell said.
The discussion also honed in on the strong political headwinds Republican candidates are facing here and across the country, whether the Lehigh Valley’s congressional seat really is a political toss up this cycle and why Gov. Josh Shapiro has avoided some of the negative perceptions other incumbents are saddled with.
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