As the 2020 election approaches, voters in central Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District voted for novel representation in a special election. The district elected former Rep. Tom Marino in the November 2018 midterm elections, but Marino quickly resigned for health reasons, sparking another special election in the commonwealth. The district is completely red and has received little attention from either Pennsylvania or the National Republican Party, but Congressman-elect Fred Keller’s overwhelming margin of victory can be seen as a preview of a future Pennsylvania electorate that will be a huge player in 2020.
After a lengthy party selection process, former state representative Fred Keller emerged victorious from a field of 14 candidates. Keller is well-regarded in Harrisburg and has an unblemished Conservative Party voting record, earning a 90% approval rating from the American Conservative Union. He is a solid mainstream Republican who will be an excellent ally for President Trump in a polarized House of Representatives as president he said myself on Monday evening.
Keller’s opponent, Penn State assistant professor Marc Friedenberg, could not be more starkly different from the district’s novel congressman-elect. Friedenberg, who ran against former Republican Tom Marino in November and lost by more than 30 points, is aligning himself with Republican Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a growing wing of radical leftists in the Democratic Party. In his first proposal to Congress, he supported Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, debt-free college, repeal of President Trump’s tax cuts, and abortion on demand; even after the crushing defeat against Marino, Friedenberg hardly changed his position.
This radical rejection by district voters of socialist values, which pose a real threat to the American economy, should send a message that these values ​​absolutely cannot and will never win in central Pennsylvania. I argue that these values ​​cannot prevail in the enormous majority of Pennsylvania counties. While Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional District has historically been a solid red district, providing secure wins for the GOP, a Democrat with moderate values ​​may have a path to victory; just as a conventional Democrat who may not embrace the tax-heavy socialist values ​​of the novel wing of the Democratic Party could win the coveted Keystone State in 2020.
Democrats in Pennsylvania and other swing states should learn from these special elections. Although PA-12 is a solidly red district, this election speaks to the enormous majority of swing states and the rust belt: socialist values ​​are not popular. If Democrats want to have a chance at winning Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin or Ohio, they would do well to nominate someone who does not share the radical policies pursued by Marc Friedenberg, which cost him his second bid for Congress in an overwhelming landslide.
