“Republicans are basically depressed right now,” Eugene DePasquale, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, reveals during his sit-down with Tim Dickinson. DePasquale updates us on four key House races in the Keystone state, where he is witnessing “a lot of Democratic enthusiasm.”
The two also discuss the highly anticipated square off in PA-08 between Scranton Mayor Cognetti and incumbent Rob Bresnahan and why the 2028 Presidential election will “run through” Pennsylvania.
Eugene DePasquale is the Chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. Formerly, he was the Auditor General of Pennsylvania. Prior to his tenure as Auditor General, Mr. DePasquale was a three-term member of the state General Assembly, representing the 95th state house district.
The transcript below has been edited for formatting purposes.
Tim Dickinson
Hey, this is Tim Dickinson for The Contrarian. Our guest today is the head of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Eugene D. Pasquale. Eugene, welcome.
Eugene DePasquale
Tim, thanks for having me, it’s always a pleasure to be on the show.
Tim Dickinson
What’s the mood right now in Pennsylvania? As Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation. What are you guys seeing on the ground?
Eugene DePasquale
Look, first of all, Democrats are fired up, and for, you know, a lot of your listeners out there, you know, Pennsylvania is a key swing state, perhaps one of the key swing states in the country, and inside that state is, you know, some of the key swing congressional seats in the country. We have an incredibly popular governor in Josh Shapiro, who’s right now favored to win the election overwhelmingly, but we’ve got several key congressional races that we are looking to swing to, bring Democrats’ control of Congress and put a stop to this Trump administration. You know, I was just in the Lehigh Valley all this past week. We had a rally for Bob Brooks. The room was pumped up, energetic, and in addition to that, we actually have numbers. Josh Shapiro got 450,000 more votes in the primary than his Republican opponent. That shows that we have a lot of Democratic enthusiasm in this state. Republicans are also basically depressed right now, and we had higher Democratic percentage turnout in every single count in this state, so we’re ready to take our country back.
Tim Dickinson
Well, and so we’ve just come out of the primaries, and we’ve got, I think, 4 key races in the House to talk about today. People, I think, who maybe look at Pennsylvania as a purple state, they think, well, you know, the Republican Party there must be pretty moderate. But let’s talk about Scott Perry, who’s a really extreme guy. He was in a very swing district, but was the head of the one of the most conservative caucuses in the House, and was a total drink the Kool-Aid guy on election denial. Tell us about what’s going on in that race outside the Harrisburg area.
Eugene DePasquale
So, overall, you’re right. First of all, that we have four key races we are looking to swing, and they all own this Trump agenda. The healthcare cuts, the Medicaid cuts, the SNAP benefit cuts, certainly the higher prices, you know, the war of choice, they own all of that. We’ll talk, obviously, more about each of those individual races. Scott Perry is someone that, you know, not everyone in America may know who he is, but he is to the right of MAGA in a swing district. Janelle Stel… Allison almost… Last time. What people should know about Scott Perry is you know, on January 5th, at the end of the first Trump administration, he was the one that was in the Oval Office strategizing with Trump. And even, you know, directly now, he was the lead Republican advocate in not extending the healthcare subsidies to make sure the Affordable Care Act was affordable. That has directly led to Tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians losing healthcare coverage, and tens and thousands of more having to pay higher premiums, double digits, sometimes even triple digits. That’s who Scott Perry is, and we’re gonna beat him this time.
Tim Dickinson
And tell us about the Democrat in the race, who I think people should be introduced to.
Eugene DePasquale
Yeah, Janelle Stelson is a lifelong-time member of the news media, so she was the local news anchor on our biggest TV station in central Pennsylvania for literally decades. And she ran the last time, won a, you know, a contested primary, and it was a very competitive general election. It was one that really snuck up on people, because people were… it was really not one of the races to watch at the beginning of the cycle. And even though Trump won the district by. I think about 5 percentage points. Janelle lost by one percentage point, and that was obviously in a 2024 climate that was significantly more difficult for Democrats. So we believe she’s poised to win that for two reasons. A, we just have… Democrats are more fired up this time, and B, people are seeing what’s happening with this Trump agenda that Scott Perry is all in on. The healthcare cuts, the healthcare industry is a big part of that district. So, you know, those cuts are directly impacting the hospitals in those districts. There’s a lot of people that have lost healthcare coverage in that district. There’s also a rural population, so cutting food stamps has directly hurt the farmers of that district. And obviously, we’re all stuck with these higher gas prices.
Tim Dickinson
Let’s, switch to the Scranton area. There’s Rob Bresnahan, I guess, what, what’s, what’s, what’s the… Case against him.
Eugene DePasquale
Yeah, so let me give you… I’m gonna brag about Paige Cognetti, Mayor Cognetti, for a second before we go into Rob Bresnahan, because that is, he is literally unbelievable as to how bad he is. But, Paige Cognetti is… the mayor, Scranton, and she used to work for me when I was the Auditor General, so she has a record of holding the powerful accountable. That’s what we did as Auditor General. She was someone that fought for lower student loan rates, she helped me with that. She helped hold some of the school districts that were abusing power accountable, even when it came to the cyber charter schools. So, she was a tremendous ally of mine, and she’s been a great mayor of Scranton, helping bring that city back. You know, when she took over, the previous mayor was indicted. She’s cleaned that city up, has them moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, Rob Bresnahan literally defines congressional corruption. When people talk about banning members of Congress from insider trading. Rob Bresnahan is the poster child of that. He is the number one abuser of insider trading from members of Congress. He literally goes to committee meetings, here’s where they’re going to spend taxpayer dollars, then calls a stockbroker. It is unbelievable. And at the same token, he is someone that promised his constituents that he would not touch Medicaid, and what did he do? He voted to cut Medicaid. big rural population in that district, those farmers are getting hurt by him, and obviously the gas prices and the war of choice through Donald Trump. We are poised to win that seat as well.
Tim Dickinson
And then as I understand it, there’s a couple seats outside of Philadelphia, including one where, Kamala Harris won, but the Republican took the… seat there. What can you tell us about that race?
Eugene DePasquale
So that’s the, Bucks County seat, where you have Brian Fitzpatrick, who, you know, without his vote, the big, beautiful bill does not become law. Wow. And so he was a key vote in advancing that. Which, again, led to, you know, the SNAP benefit cuts, the cuts in Medicaid, and… and so, you know, he is someone that we are going to absolutely hold accountable that. Kamala Harris did win that district, it was narrow, but she won it, and we… in the other… on the other… on our side of it, we have Bob Harvey, who is a county commissioner, but more importantly than that, he’s a teacher, he’s a union member, and he is a popular county-wide elected official, so we believe we have the perfect contrast with Brian Fitzpatrick there, and we’re gonna win that seat also.
Tim Dickinson
Now, how does it… what does he do that helps him play to the center in a Republican Party, MAGA party that has gone so far to the right? How does that work? What’s the dynamic there?
Eugene DePasquale
So, you mean with Bob Harvey? Bob, I think as a popular countywide elected official, Box County may be the swingiest of swing counties in the swingiest of swing, swing states. And when he last won his county-wide position, he won by close to double digits, which is almost impossible in Bucks County, which shows there is a broad level of support for Bob Harvey as a countywide elected official, and certainly that’ll exist in his campaign for Congress as well.
Tim Dickinson
I guess I meant in terms of the Fitzpatrick, he seems to be, you know, to be able to attack to the center at the same time that Trump is doing all these extreme things. How do you… how do you, rope him a little more closely to the… to the MAGA agenda, if he’s.
Eugene DePasquale
Yeah, well, we’re gonna make it clear that without his vote, the big, beautiful bill doesn’t become law. So, he can try to play whatever games he wants to play, and I get he’s gonna try that, but we have him on record with that vote, and Bob Harvey and we as a party are gonna hold him accountable, and we’re gonna flip that seat.
Tim Dickinson
And then, there’s a Delco seat, PA7? What is that one?
Eugene DePasquale
It’s… it’s the Lehigh Valley.
Tim Dickinson
Oh, I’m sorry.
Eugene DePasquale
No, no, that’s fine. I’ll give you a Pennsylvania geography lesson here while you’.
Tim Dickinson
Please.
Eugene DePasquale
That’s the seat directly north of the Bucks County seat, Lehigh Valley, which, you know, it borders, borders New York, or New Jersey, and it’s right on the edge of Pennsylvania. And it is, again, a very swing area, very diverse area. Healthcare is a big part of that district, and on the Democratic side, we have Bob Brooks, who is a firefighter. Blue-collar guy, and he knows what it’s like to struggle. When he grew up, his house was actually burned down in the fire. His family was on SNAP benefits, so he knows how important it is to have these benefits for people that need it. On the same time, you’ve got basically the millionaire Caucus. You have Ryan Fitzpatrick, who… basically, there’s no reason to have him as a member of Congress, because he does whatever Trump wants him to do. And so, even though, again, he’s one of these ones that promised he wouldn’t do it. Once he got into office, voted to cut Medicare, hurting the hospitals, and just yesterday, we went over 11,000 people that have lost health insurance. in his congressional district as a result of his vote on the big, beautiful bill. We are going to hold him accountable, we’re going to flip that seat. Two years ago, our incumbent Democratic member of Congress in that district lost that race by less than 1 percentage.
Tim Dickinson
Wow.
Eugene DePasquale
Very tough environment. We’re gonna win that back. Bob Brooks is gonna represent the working people of the Lehigh Valley.
Tim Dickinson
Fantastic. Let’s talk about the governor’s race, and the, the, Stacey Garrity as a… perhaps a little less extreme than, than.
Eugene DePasquale
She was one of the ones that, you know, was cheerleading that the election was stolen. She’s been cheerleading the big, beautiful bill. She actually said the tariffs were a necessary price to pay, and she is cheerleading this war of choice in Iran. So, I’m not gonna give her that pass. I think she’s just gone back.
Tim Dickinson
In comparison to somebody who showed up at the, at the Capitol.
Eugene DePasquale
Oh, well, yeah, if you’re comparing her to Doug Mastriano, maybe that’s, you know, maybe we all…
Tim Dickinson
compared to.
Eugene DePasquale
But no, Stacey Garrity is basically, you know, MAGA. She is cheerleading the Trump agenda. And she has said she’s gonna bring the Trump agenda to Pennsylvania. Again, that’s what she said. So… On the other hand, we have Governor Shapiro, as we like to say, is getting stuff done. Sometimes he uses another word to describe the stuff done. But look, his first ad just hit the air, where he actually got done in Pennsylvania free breakfast for the kids of Pennsylvania, to make sure that they are getting food in their bellies so they can learn more. That’s something that Josh Shapiro delivered on, in addition to, you know, historic investments in education, making sure that, you know, when I-95 collapsed. getting that road fixed in record time. He is someone that knows how to make Pennsylvania work. He’s broadly, not only with Democrats and Independents, but even a very big chunk of Republicans, think he’s doing a great job as governor.
Tim Dickinson
Well, Eugene, thanks so much for this conversation. Do you have any other races or thoughts that you want to make sure that our viewers come away with?
Eugene DePasquale
Yeah, so one thing that, you know, Pennsylvania Democrats have not controlled the State Senate since 1992, so we’re looking to flip the state senate as well. If we do that, and get Governor Shapiro more allies, we are going to make sure that the people of Pennsylvania get a raise, childcare is going to be more affordable, and we’re going to make sure our state colleges and universities are more affordable. And if anyone wants to help, you know, make Donald Trump a lame duck president by helping us flip Congress, or making sure more Democrats are elected in Pennsylvania. Please go to PADems.org. You can get involved, you know, volunteer for some of these races, or you can even make a contribution. We’d love to have your help. This is the battleground of the United States.
Tim Dickinson
Well, it’s clear that the road to 20286 runs through Pennsylvania. Thanks so much for your time today.
Eugene DePasquale
Thank you, Tim. I really appreciate your time.
Tim Dickinson
Alright, take it easy.
