MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) hit the Keystone State last week to boost a pair of swing district GOP House rivals who have underperformed former President Donald Trump in polls — telling The Post he is confident these “all star candidates”.
Johnson’s travels began Thursday in the Lehigh Valley, where longtime state lawmaker Ryan McKenzie faces Rep. Susan Wild — a third-time House Democrat with a history of controversy.
At a luncheon at a local club in the critical county of Northampton, Johnson described Mackenzie as “one of my favorites” while explaining why he is confident that the traditional liberal voting blocs wary of Kamala Harris – Hispanics, blacks and Jews voters – will move toward the Republicans. Party this year.
“When they do the math on the other side of that [election]it will show that we’ve had a true, real and hopefully lasting demographic change in the electorate,” Johnson said.
Despite Johnson praising Mackenzie’s “workhorse” approach to the office, the GOP challenger faces an uphill battle against Wild.
A Muhlenberg College poll shows Mackenzie trailing the Democrat by 6 points (51% to 45%) in the pivotal 7th Congressional District. The same poll shows Trump trailing Harris by just 3 points (50% to 47%).
Johnson also stopped Friday in Cumberland County for one of his key constituents, Rep. Scott Perry.
A sixth-termer, Perry — who has been involved in a 2020 presidential campaign — faces an unusually stiff challenge from longtime central Pennsylvania news anchor Janelle Stelson in the state’s 10th Congressional District.
Despite running as a Democrat in the red-leaning district, Stelson has a 9-point lead over Perry (48% to 39%) according to a Susquehanna poll released Wednesday. Trump trails Harris by just 5 points (46% to 41%) in the district, the same poll shows.
Asked how his party can keep House candidates competitive while improving its contentious ground game, Johnson told the Post he trusts the Pennsylvania GOP’s “grassroots operations” and past contributions by House incumbents to carry the day .
“They’re all great members of Congress who contribute so much, and that’s why I think they’re going to win,” Johnson said of McKenzie, Perry and others he called “all-star candidates.”
The speaker went on to contrast that record with Harris’ “pure fantasy” campaign, while pointing to her liberal record in the Senate.
“Kamala Harris and the Democrats are running a campaign of pure fantasy right now. It’s fantasy over reality,” Johnson said of the veep.
“They’re trying to convince us that she’s someone that everyone knows she’s not.”
