Northeast
Key Pennsylvania region sees ‘waitlist’ for Trump signs; lawmaker says voters ready to reverse Dem policies
PLEASANT CORNER, Pa. – On a clear day, a hiker standing atop Bake Oven Knob, a high point along the Appalachian Trail in Lehigh Furnace, Pa., can see most of state Sen. Jarrett Coleman’s district.
Below the crest of Blue Mountain lies a patchwork of woods and farmsteads in the historically Pennsylvania Dutch communities. On the horizon lies the growing, diverse footprint of Allentown, Pennsylvania’s third-largest city.
Beyond Allentown lies mixed suburbs like Emmaus and Coopersburg, before again giving way to rural communities like Hosensack and Old Zionsville, the latter being the hometown of former three-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey.
As Pennsylvania’s friendlier economic climate draws transplants from New York and New Jersey, its farmland has been gradually replaced by residential subdivisions and corporate warehousing.
INSIDE DEMOCRATS’ GROUND GAME IN PENNSYLVANIA’S ‘SWING’ LEHIGH VALLEY AREA
Bake Oven Knob, a high point on Blue Mountain in Germansville, Pa., overlooks Lehigh County. (Charles Creitz)
All of those factors combine to create what Allentown Democratic Mayor Matt Tuerk called the “swingiest” area of the perennial bellwether state.
Coleman, a Republican and an airline pilot who entered the political scene as an outspoken conservative member of the Parkland School Board during the height of national controversies, said Republicans are poised to do well in the Lehigh Valley this year.
“We are seeing some of the highest levels of excitement and motivation from folks in the Lehigh Valley. I am hopeful for turnout to exceed 2020 levels,” Coleman said. The GOP underperformed that year in both Lehigh and Northampton counties.
“Although Lehigh County contains a ‘blue’ urban core, life for everyone, regardless of political party, has gotten harder under the current administration. This is prompting even some who have traditionally voted Democrat to cast ballots for GOP candidates.
“The economy, border and community safety remain top concerns for those in the Lehigh Valley.”
Democrats are also aiming to retake the Pennsylvania state Senate, and state Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, the state party chairman, said in a recent interview the landmark achievement is within reach.
But, in terms of Harrisburg and Washington, Coleman said, “kitchen table issues” are front of mind in his district, which also includes a slice of the Philadelphia “swing” suburb of Bucks County, and will help the GOP at both levels.
“It’s very clear that the majority of Pennsylvanians — and especially those in the Lehigh Valley — are far worse off than they were four years ago. The GOP has a platform with specific steps to take to improve the lives of those in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania and across the nation.”
Democratic “demonizing” of Trump has not helped his constituents’ pocketbook or public safety via the open border, he added.
Off the side of Bake Oven Knob, adjoining the county lake now named for him, lies the property of Revolution-era farmer Frederick Leaser.
POPULAR PA DEMOCRATIC MAYOR WARNS TRUMP IS ‘OUT-MESSAGING’ HARRIS: I GET MORE FROM STEPHEN COLBERT
As the British approached Philadelphia in 1777, Leaser loaded the Liberty Bell onto his wagon during one of his trips to take produce to market and hauled it home to Lehigh County, preventing the Redcoats from melting it down for ammunition.
Such patriotic, community sentiment remains in that part of the valley, with American flags flying in yards during holidays and local churches and fire halls hosting community dinners, from the Jacksonville oyster supper to the German Groundhog Day spread at the local Grundsau Lodsch.
A few blocks west of the church where Leaser ultimately hid the bell is the headquarters of the Lehigh County Republican Committee.
Chairman Joe Vichot said the party’s presence is ubiquitous at many local events, including the Schnecksville Fair and Allentown Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Schlicher’s Covered Bridge, built in 1882, carries Game Preserve Road across Jordan Creek in Schnecksville, Pa. Donald Trump rallied in the town in 2024. (Fox News Digital/Charles Creitz)
Trump rallied at Schnecksville’s fairgrounds earlier this year, claiming how crucial the area is this cycle.
“We have literature on candidates, and we listen and speak to residents about the issues,” Vichot said, adding his party’s float won third place in the aforementioned parade and that more than a dozen attendees were registered to vote in only a few hours.
The party also registers voters and has made connections with civic leaders in the Jewish, Syrian and Muslim communities, he said.
“The top two issues we hear are the border and the economy,” Vichot said.
“[Voters] want a new direction. They don’t believe the open border policies of Biden/Harris is good for their wallet or safe for their family.”
In neighboring Northampton County, home to Bethlehem, Easton and smaller cities like Nazareth and Wind Gap, conservatives are similarly pounding the pavement to get their messages out.
“Our local party is very involved. We are able to communicate with our voters. We are able to text them, call them, and they are receptive to our requests to … help out in going door to door and making phone calls for us,” Northampton County Republican Committee board member Andrew Azan III said.
Recent construction on Eighth Street in Allentown exposed an old-style campaign sign for the city’s last Republican mayor, Bill Heydt, who served from 1994-2002. (Charles Creitz)
Azan told Fox News Digital there’s a “waitlist” for Trump-Vance signs in his county, which the Republican nominee flipped red in 2016 but lost in 2020.
“That’s a positive sign,” he quipped.
With Bethlehem and Easton’s population of retired steelworkers giving way to new Hispanic and African American residents, the party has adjusted its messaging, but not its principles, to meet the changing diversity of the Lehigh Valley where it stands, Azan added.
In that regard, according to Lehigh Valley Tea Party board member Tom Carroll, locals are more receptive to the conservative platform, and the right wing is “more unified than I’ve ever seen.”
“They are more concerned than ever about losing their country because of the Marxist and socialist policies that are coming out of both Biden and, of course, now Kamala Harris,” said Carroll, whose Tea Party group is the nation’s largest, with 7,000 recorded members.
“She’s going to open the borders, and she’s going to enact the tax policies that she’s talked about, things like [levying] unrealized capital gains. Our voters are educated, and they’re concerned because they know what that will do to the economy.”
The Moravian Star shines on South Mountain above the Philip J. Fahy Memorial Bridge in Bethlehem, Pa. (Fox News Digital/Charles Creitz)
Carroll, an attorney who also helps lead the Bethlehem City GOP, said he’s been involved in politics since the 2010 midterms and recognized Republicans typically lagged behind Democrats in that realm most cycles.
“But there has been such a reach-out to the voters … in Pennsylvania in that there’s a lot of grassroots knocking on doors and meeting people and having a lot of events and surrogates from the various campaigns coming in.
“We believe in President Trump. We want him to get elected. And we realize Pennsylvania is the most important state in the nation.”
Fox News Digital’s Matteo Cina contributed to this report.
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UNION, New Jersey (WABC) — A 20-year-old man is charged with the deadly mass shooting that caused chaos at a Chick-fil-A in New Jersey.
Jaheed Fields of Newark is facing several charges including murder and attempted murder.
On April 11, Fields opened fire inside the Chick-fil-A on Route 22 in Union. A 23-year-old man was killed and six others were hurt. Customers inside the restaurant went scrambling for the exits.
So far, no motive for the shooting has been revealed.
Witnesses say they heard at least seven shots piercing into the crowd.
Longtime customers said they were shaken by the violence.
“That’s what’s terrifying, being a father or a parent, you have to always be vigilant and keep your head on a swivel and make sure that you’re paying attention to your surroundings and try to avoid getting yourself into a situation and unfortunately coming to a Chick-fil-A at dinner time is apparently a situation you may have to avoid now a days,” customer Christopher Devido said.
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Pennsylvania
Could a gas tax holiday be imposed in Pennsylvania as prices at the pump continue to rise?
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Discussion continues about potentially suspending the Pennsylvania gas tax, one of the highest state gas taxes in the country, as prices at the pump continue to jump.
Lawmakers in both chambers are considering a gas tax holiday that would remove Pennsylvania’s gas tax for a limited period. The Senate proposal would last 60 days, while the House version would run for six months. Supporters say the move would provide needed help for people across the state, while opponents argue it is not sustainable.
The proposals would save drivers about 57 cents per gallon on gasoline and about 75 cents per gallon on diesel from the state gas tax.
Representatives of the Democratic senator Lisa Boscola, who proposed the Senate bill and is from the Lehigh area, said they will continue pushing the measure they believe is needed by families around the state and are optimistic it will pass.
In the House, the effort is mostly being pushed by Republicans, though local Republican Rep. Jim Rigby said he does not support it because it is “not a real solution.”
Democratic Rep. Paul Takac agrees, saying state police and PennDOT road work are funded through the gas tax, and that suspending it would essentially defund both, and they would have to find money to fill those voids. Takac added that he has not heard any serious intention to move the bill forward.
Democratic Rep. Frank Burns said he believes that if the proposal came to a vote, a gas tax holiday would pass with bipartisan support and would provide at least a small break to struggling families.
The debate continues as gas prices continue rising, with another jump in the last week.
Chief economist Gbenga Ajilore of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says prices are unlikely to fall soon.
“It seems like gas prices are going to go up, and even if there’s some sort of resolution in say the next couple weeks, it’s going to be difficult to see prices go down anytime soon,” Ajilore said.
The Senate is back in session on Monday and for the next few days after that, but not again until June. If the gas tax holiday is going to move forward anytime soon, that is when it would likely happen.
In the House, the proposal would need to clear the Democratic-led Transportation Committee before it could go to a vote.
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