Scalise: NEPA key to Republican victories in November

KINGSTON — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise on Monday said the Republican road to the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House runs right through Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Scalise, R-Louisiana, was in town to campaign for Rob Bresnahan, the Republican candidate in the 8th Congressional District running unopposed in the primary. He will try to unseat 6-term incumbent Democrat Matt Cartwright in the general election.

Scalise and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Dallas, and a large crowd of supporters joined Bresnahan at the Black Diamond Kingston American Legion Post 395.

“We need Rob in Congress,” Scalise said when he entered the American Legion and sat down with a Times Leader reporter. “We have a slim majority right now, and we need Rob to win this race. We need to turn our country around.”

Scalise said Rob would vote with him and Meuser and the Republican majority on key issues, such as our southern border, the economy, energy, military and law enforcement.

“Voters are frustrated with the Biden agenda,” Scalise said. “And this area is key for us. We need people to get out and vote and to tell their family and friends to vote as well.”

Scalise and Meuser said Pennsylvania again is at the center of the political world. They said Bresnahan defeating Cartwright and Dave McCormick ousting U.S. Sen. Bob Casey would go a long way in securing Republican control of Congress.

“It’s not just America that is watching this election,” Scalise said. “The world is watching as well — weak leadership is noticed.”

That was the theme at last week’s rally for McCormick in Dallas. McCormick said the 2024 election is about one thing — leadership.

“We’re all here for the same reason,” McCormick said last week. “We are all deeply concerned about the future of our country.”

McCormick was joined by Meuser, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, and National Republican Senate Committee Chairman U.S. Sen Steve Daines of Montana. They all said the 2024 election is about leadership.

“Send Rob Bresnahan to Congress,” Meuser said Monday. “Help us win and help us change our country’s direction.”

Scalise said turnout will be key in November.

“If we don’t have great turnout, the Democrats can turn the House, retain the majority in the Senate and keep Biden in the White House,” Scalise said. “Your vote can prevent all that from happening.”

Scalise said the U.S. needs to be self-reliant, and not dependent on China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

“Rob Bresnahan will vote with us on issues that matter most to all of you,” Scalise said. “We need a Republican majority in both houses of Congress and in the White House. With your vote, we can turn this all around.”

Bresnahan said he was born, raised and educated in Northeastern Pennsylvania and he has spent his professional life focused on creating family-sustaining union careers and investing in redevelopment projects in the Wyoming Valley.

First elected to the seat in 2012, Cartwright most recently won reelection last November, when he defeated Republican Jim Bognet by 7,000 votes in one of the most-closely watched races in the country. Cartwright also defeated Bognet in 2020.

The Pennsylvania primary is April 23. Both Bresnahan, 33 of Dallas, and Cartwright, 62 of Moosic, are unopposed and will square off in November.

Scalise currently serves as Majority Leader, the second highest position in House Republican Leadership, and represents Louisiana’s 1st Congressional District.

Since he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2008, Scalise has served the people of Southeast Louisiana and advanced a conservative agenda that he said benefits all Americans.

As Majority Leader, Scalise is charged with implementing the House legislative agenda: setting the Congressional floor schedule, guiding Committee Chairs on policy priorities, and working with his colleagues to advance conservative solutions that address our country’s toughest challenges.

Bresnahan is a Luzerne County native and successful businessman/turned investor who is known for revitalizing historic downtown buildings in Northeastern Pennsylvania.