Pennsylvania RNC delegates take center stage, representing undecided state

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Pennsylvania delegates to the Republican National Convention gathered Monday morning, and the convention began with a renewed focus on them and the key swing state they call home — and a very good day for their political hero, former President Donald Trump.

“Because of what happened Saturday night, the eyes of the world are on us,” delegation chairman Jim Worthington said during a state delegation breakfast Monday in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee.

The attempted assassination of Trump in their home state at a rally attended by about a dozen delegates has become a rallying cry for the week and the campaign ahead. Several Pennsylvania delegates and elected officials who were seated near the front of the stage when Trump was shot in Butler, Pa., stood together at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee to formally nominate him.

“Madam Secretary, the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania…the birthplace of our nation and Constitution and Independence Hall, proudly cast all 67 of its votes for the bravest man in America, Donald J. Trump,” Worthington said from the floor.

” READ MORE: The Latest: Assassination attempt on Donald Trump stalls as he reveals vice presidential candidate on first day of GOP convention

Delegates here On the first day of the convention, he expressed extreme confidence in Trump’s path through a critical state by selecting Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate, and a judge dismissed the lawsuit against him.

“This is a euphoric day to unite the Republican Party,” delegate Michael McMullen said from the convention floor in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey shortly after the nomination was made official. McMullen, who hails from western Pennsylvania, also attended Butler’s rally. “This awful day showed that we are battle-ready, battle-hardened, and November 5th can’t come soon enough.”

Earlier in the day, Worthington cited the defiant image of Trump walking off stage with his fist raised after being shot Saturday.

“Now it’s our turn to do the same because America’s future depends on Pennsylvania,” Worthington said. “Make no mistake.”

The state delegation’s breakfast, usually held informally in the hotel’s ballroom, was opened to members of the media who gathered behind the ropes.

During the breakfast, news broke that a judge had dismissed charges against Trump for allegedly mishandling secret documents.

“This gives the people the power to decide who our next president will be,” Lawrence Tabas, chairman of the state Republican Party, said as he announced the news to delegates who gave them a standing ovation and burst into applause.

” READ MORE: Judge dismisses Donald Trump’s charges of allegedly mishandling secret documents

In a sign of the importance of the Pennsylvania delegation, House Speaker Mike Johnson is scheduled to address delegates at a breakfast Tuesday. Lara and Eric Trump are also expected to appear.

“There’s a reason they come here and not to Alaska,” Worthington said.

Speakers Monday included state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Ted Christian and radio host Rich Zeoli.

Delegates and speakers expressed renewed confidence in Trump’s future in Pennsylvania.

Zeoli predicted that President Joe Biden will remain his party’s nominee despite Democratic calls for him to concede. “What Democrat in their right mind wants to run against Donald Trump right now?” Zeoli said. “Donald Trump is now on track to win by an even bigger landslide.”

While Trump is unlikely to unite a deeply divided nation, he has certainly united a party where he has enjoyed relatively moderate, reluctant support.

“Gosh, just six to nine months ago, people were trying to have one foot in his side and one foot in the other,” Garrity said, noting that some politicians were reluctant to openly support Trump or campaign with him, fearing it could cost them in uncertain areas.

“Instead of hiding their support, now everyone is coming out,” she said.

Rep. Jeff Bartos, a former GOP Senate candidate from Montgomery County, compared the attempted coup to other key moments in Pennsylvania that helped write national history. “Whether you go to Gettysburg or you go see the steel that was forged in Western Pennsylvania, the idea that there’s another event that’s going to happen in Pennsylvania that’s going to change the whole conversation and move us to this incredibly unifying force behind President Trump feels significant.”

” READ MORE: In sleepy Butler, Pennsylvania, city workers are being inundated with emails of praise and threats: ‘We failed’

The breakfast also included calls for less violent rhetoric in politics, though there was plenty of bashing of Democrats in the hall and in convention programming. Trump said he rewrote his acceptance speech to focus more on unity and less on attacking Biden.

“Where do we go from here is the question,” U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R., Pa.) said at the breakfast. “What do we do? There’s talk of unity. Is this a moment that clarifies unity? Let’s do everything we can to make that happen.”

Meuser added: “But did you happen to see the message that the Democrats put on our platform? It was hateful.”

Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick called for a moratorium on negative campaigning in his race against Democratic Senator Bob Casey, whose campaign said it had already suspended ads after the assassination attempt.

Delegates seemed generally pleased with a week in which Trump narrowly escaped death by shooting and had his lawsuit dismissed.

“Trump, when he stood up, said, ‘Fight,’” said John Grenci, an alternate delegate from Butler who was at the rally with his wife, just yards from the stage when Trump was shot.

“And you know, the stakes have never been higher. I really think if he just sticks to his winning message, there’s no stopping him.”