Shapiro stumps for McCaffery and other Democratic candidates in Bucks County – Pennsylvania Capital-Star

NEWTOWN — Gov. Josh Shapiro rallied support for fellow Democrats Judge Dan McCaffery and County Commissioner candidates Bob Harvie and Diane Marseglia in a campaign stop late Tuesday morning in Bucks County. 

McCaffery, a judge on the Pennsylvania Superior Court, is running for the open seat on the state Supreme Court. He’s facing Republican Carolyn Carluccio, a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. The state Supreme Court race has garnered a lot of interest and outside spending, as the court is expected to take up consequential cases related to abortion rights in the near future.

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Shapiro said McCaffery is “going to be on the front lines of all of the major issues that we care about in the next number of years,” adding that Bucks County could be a difference maker in the election.

“Listen, the judge is not going to sit here and tell you about this case or that case,” Shapiro said. “All we want in a justice is someone who cares deeply about the rule of law, who cares deeply about protecting our fundamental freedoms and Justice Dan McCaffrey is going to do that.”

Harvie and Marseglia won two of the three seats on the Bucks County Board of Commissioners in 2019, making it the first time since 1983 that Democrats held a majority on the board. 

The Democrats are facing Republican County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo and Pamela Van Blunk, Bucks County Controller.

“What is being tested today in Bucks County, is whether we want to continue that spirit of getting stuff done the way Bob and Diane have in the courthouse here in Bucks County or whether we want to go back,” Shapiro said. “I think as Bucks County Democrats, we understand just how important it is to do the hard work today so that they can do the hard work for us tomorrow.”

Shapiro, a former Montgomery County commissioner, said that county commissioners “are on the front lines and making sure your vote counts.” Bucks County is widely viewed as the lone swing county left in the Philadelphia region.

President Joe Biden bested then-President Donald Trump in 2020 by just under 4 points. However, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-1st District) won that same year by 13 points in the district that includes all of Bucks County and small parts of Montgomery County. 

In 2022, Bucks County was critical to both Shapiro’s successful gubernatorial campaign and John Fetterman’s bid for U.S. Senate. 

Shapiro won Bucks County over GOP candidate state Sen. Doug Mastriano by nearly 20 points, while Fetterman bested Republican Mehmet Oz by just over 7 points there. Fitzpatrick also secured another term in Congress that same cycle, with many voters splitting their ballots in the suburban district. 

Internal polling earlier this cycle indicated that Bucks County would be a “challenging environment” for the Democrats running for Commissioner.

Originally published at www.penncapital-star.com,by John Cole