CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — While some national Republican leaders have decided not to endorse Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for President of the United States, top Republicans in Clarion County are supporting Trump.
“There were 16 or 17 challengers in the national primary, and he beat them all, and in the primary, he won all 67 counties in the state of Pennsylvania,” said Rick Rathfon, chair of the Clarion County Republican Party Committee.
“We adopted a resolution at our last meeting that we will support all candidates who support our presidential nominee, and we’re not going to support candidates that don’t.”
Rathfon said he was upset with U.S. Representative Pat Toomey who is also running for reelection because he has not publically endorsed Trump. While Toomey has not publically said he would not support him, he still hasn’t said he would support him, according to Rathfon in a Friday interview.
“He’s sitting on the fence, and I think that’s wrong,” said Rathfon.
State Representative Donna Oberlander backs Trump because he is also for the same issues that are important to her.
“On the areas that matter most to me—a strong economy, a strong military, pro-life, and proud American—he’s the guy that I will be supporting,” said Oberlander. “Those are the important issues to me, and those are the important issues to him.”
Asked if a President Trump would be good for Pennsylvania, Oberlander said, “I think in terms of getting the EPA off of the throat of business for Pennsylvania and a pro-business economy attitude are great for Pennsylvania and exactly what we need.”
State Senator Scott Hutchinson also added his support of Trump.
“I certainly support Mr. Trump as our nominee,” said Hutchinson. “I think the people have spoken. Of the candidates remaining, he is certainly is by far my preference philosophically, as well as operationally. Like any nominee forever, there’s always things you disagree with, but in the end, he’s much closer to my beliefs and the direction I think the country should be going than anybody else who’s in the field at this point.”
Also asked if he thought a President Trump would be good for Pennsylvania, Hutchinson said he thinks Trump is good for America and that is his job.
“I think that some of the issues he talks about do overly impact Pennsylvania,” said Pennsylvania. “When you talk about some of the trade issues that have been raised, Pennsylvania has historically been on the losing end in those trade deals. I think he will be much cognizant of America’s role in that respect. Indirectly, that says Pennsylvania will be treated a little better than then we have been in the past.”
Rathfon emphasized that he feels Trump has worked hard and has earned the support of the Republican Party.
“To me, that means something,” said Rathfon. “Going back to my days of coaching basketball — if you work hard and do the job and you earn the right for playing time, you should play. To me, Trump earned it, and it wasn’t handed to him. Nobody gave it to him. He earned it. It’s going to be interesting for the next few months, that’s for sure.”
