Author: Eugene DePasquale
As I traveled throughout the Commonwealth over the past year, the message I heard from Pennsylvanians was clear: they are fed up with the chaos, corruption and high prices coming from Washington.
In November we have a chance to do something about it.
Across the Commonwealth, this election comes down to a choice: Donald Trump’s plan for chaos and high prices in Washington, or more freedom and getting things done for Pennsylvanians.
The Pennsylvania Republican Party has fully embraced Trump’s agenda, and Pennsylvanians have paid the price for it. We have been monitoring health insurance premiums for the last year and a half rocket By an average of 102% – and as much as 485% in some communities. Above 145,000 Pennsylvanians have been forced to drop their insurance altogether, and that number is growing every day.
Trump’s war of choice in Iran has caused gas prices to rise more than a dollar per gallon across Pennsylvania and it has made it harder for our farmers afford fertilizers and key supplies.
And our companies did it he fought stay afloat as illegal tariffs raise operating costs and have taken billions out of the pockets of Pennsylvanians.
This year, Pennsylvanians can send a message to Washington: We won’t pay this price while you sell us out to serene down Donald Trumpand we are ready to elect Democrats who have proven they put our Commonwealth first.
Over the last three and a half years, among others: Governor Josh Shapiro AND Lt. Governor Austin Davis We got things done for Pennsylvanians – securing it over $41 billion in private sector investments to create almost 23,000 jobs and doing historic investments in K-12 education throughout the Community, while cutting taxes for seniors, working families and compact businesses.
And when Trump’s chaos threatened the Commonwealth, Governor Shapiro went to court and won… protecting Pennsylvania students and teachers from devastating funding cuts, restoring frozen SNAP payments to ensure that no Pennsylvanian goes hungry, and getting up for their health.
Meanwhile, his opponent Stacy Garrityruns to bring this chaos to the Commonwealth because he supports Trump’s policies raising prices, harming farmersAND depriving Pennsylvanians of health care.
As Governor Shapiro sets an example of how to get things done in the commonwealth, we need leaders who will fight for us in Congress.
In 2026, Pennsylvania will have four swing seats in the U.S. House of Representatives – more than any other state in the country – giving us the power to control the chamber and control cost-raising policies coming out of Washington.
These four members of Congress – Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mazkenzie, Rob BresnahanAND Scott Perryy — are vulnerable because they have abandoned their voters in favor of total loyalty to Trump. Have advanced devastating cuts to health care, supported illegal and causing an augment in customs duties and rejected to implement necessary checks on Trump’s reckless war of choice in Iran – and their voters are ready to hold them accountable for their spinelessness in November.
But this opportunity for change doesn’t end in Washington.
This year, we have a historic opportunity to flip control of the state Senate and expand Democrats’ current single-seat majority in the House, giving Democrats their first top-three finish in over 30 years.
This means Pennsylvanians will get their first raise since 2009, when we raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour. It means creating life more affordable for Pennsylvania families – providing student debt relief, expanding the tax credit for child care premiums, and supporting the Governor’s plans to lower energy and housing costs.
We know that the dynamics are on our side. Last year, Pennsylvanians pushed back Trump’s agenda at the ballot boxleading to historic Democratic victories across the Commonwealth. We were he was even able to flip a state Senate seat that Trump won by double digits. For the first time in years Democrats are registering more voters than Republicans, keeping their promise I did it on the first day as a chair.
Between now and November, Democrats across the Commonwealth – from Bethlehem to Beaver Falls – are united in our goal to elect leaders who put Pennsylvanians first, and we will work tirelessly to finally end the chaos, corruption and high prices in Trump’s Washington.
Eugene DePasquale is the chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party.
