BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. (KDKA) — While every part of Pennsylvania will play a role in deciding which presidential candidate wins the Commonwealth, this region is a prime target for both Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
A day after a jury convicted Donald Trump of 34 crimes, two friends playfully raised their fists at each other in the county seat of Beaver County; good friends who couldn’t disagree more about Trump.
“He’s my man. That’s him. That’s him. I like him. He gets things done. He gets things done,” said Joan Ashton of New Brighton.
“I think he’s guilty of everything, and I’m the opposite of her. He’s not my husband at all,” Pat Winters added.
Beaver County, like all the counties around Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, was once a Democratic stronghold, but now, like the others, has become Republican in registration.
“It’s not that Beaver County won’t vote for a Democrat. They certainly don’t like an extreme liberal,” said Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible.
Bible, a Democrat who calls himself a moderate, just defeated a Republican candidate for district attorney. The Bible says Trump has the right to appeal his verdict, but he should not discredit the American legal system just because he lost.
“I think we have one of the greatest legal systems in the world,” Bible said. “Anytime you don’t get a decision you like, you can’t always say something was wrong.”
To many Trump supporters, like Brian Foster, the trial was a joke.
‘Donald can be pretty prominent sometimes, but I really think he’s been set up. “I don’t believe everything the prosecutor said,” Foster added.
Tricia Ladely, a registered Republican, says the verdict strengthens her decision to vote against Trump this time.
“I normally vote Republican, but I haven’t since he’s been in the story,” Ladely said.
Delano: Did you vote for it? [Trump] initial?
Ladely: Yeah, at first, the very first time I did that, and I wish I hadn’t.
County Commissioner Tony Amadio, a five-term Democrat, thinks other issues are bigger for voters than the Trump trial in this purple county.
“I’m sure Roe v. Wade is a big deal to some people. The economy, immigration, everyone has their own thoughts,” Amadio said.
While Democrats like Bob Casey, Josh Shapiro and Eugene DePasquale have all endorsed Beaver County, no one expects Joe Biden to do so, but he doesn’t have to do that to win the Commonwealth. He just has to keep it close.
Jon Delano
