Post Politics Now: Biden to talk police funding, crime prevention in visit to political battleground Pennsylvania
Today, President Biden is traveling to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., where he will discuss funding police, his efforts at crime prevention and the bipartisan bill to combat gun violence that he signed into law in June, the first measure in nearly three decades. Biden’s visit is the first of three over the next week in the political battleground state that is crucial to deciding control of Congress and the 2024 presidential election.
In November, Pennsylvanians will vote in competitive House races, pick a new U.S. senator and choose a governor who appoints the secretary of state, the chief elections official who certifies vote tallies. Biden plans to deliver a major address Thursday in Philadelphia on the fight for democracy and attend a Labor Day celebration in Pittsburgh on Monday.
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Noted: Homeland security chief in Bush administration backs Democrat Shapiro
Michael Chertoff, who served as the secretary of homeland security in the George W. Bush administration, is endorsing Democrat Josh Shapiro in his bid for Pennsylvania governor.
“I dedicated my career in public service to upholding the rule of law and defending the Constitution,” Chertoff said in a statement. “Right now, we all have a responsibility to support candidates of whichever party who will stand up and defend our democracy. Although I am a long-standing Republican, I am deeply troubled by [Republican challenger] Doug Mastriano’s embrace of dangerous extremism.”
“Josh Shapiro, on the other hand, is a staunch defender of our democratic institutions and will lead Pennsylvania with honor and integrity,” Chertoff added.
Several other Pennsylvania Republicans announced they were bucking their party and supporting Shapiro, the state attorney general, over state Sen. Doug Mastriano.
On Friday, Reuters released a photo showing Mastriano posing in a Confederate uniform for a faculty photo at the Army War College in 2014. Mastriano also has drawn condemnation for repeating a falsehood about Democratic megadonor George Soros and for his ties to a white-nationalist social media site.
