When I first ran for elected office six years ago, I made a commitment to always be upfront, honest and transparent with community residents – knowing my job is to represent the people of the 46th senatorial district with integrity. Upholding that vow means never lying to you for my own personal or political gain, no matter the consequences.
I have long been a vocal supporter of President Trump. His policies on the economy, energy and trade have made our country stronger, and I believe he deserves a second term to continue this record of achievement on behalf of the American people. When he has been unfairly attacked, I have stood strong in his defense throughout the past four years, including vehemently denouncing the politically motivated impeachment effort that divided our country a year ago.
More recently, when issues were raised with the election results here in Pennsylvania, I strongly supported President Trump’s right to present evidence in court to bring these problems to light.
At every opportunity, I have fought for the integrity of our election process. I participated in the Senate’s policy hearing to hear concerns about our election. I called for the resignation of our Secretary of State who ignored the clear language of state law to create political edges for Democrats. I signed a letter calling on Governor Wolf to call a special session on election fraud. Unlike some other letters that have been circulated recently, this one actually mattered. If a majority of members would have signed it, it would have forced the governor to call the special session.
However, I will not support the spread of misinformation. I fearlessly stand up for the people I represent. In fighting to right these wrongs, I refuse to lie to you like some other public figures are doing right now.
Recently, letters were sent to Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressman Kevin McCarthy regarding Pennsylvania’s election results. A vast majority of Republican senators did not sign the letters. I did not sign because the letters included information that was not true.
For example, the letters mislead readers about PA’s SURE database, which is not Pennsylvania’s official voter record; those records are held by the counties. As our auditor general reported in 2019, some counties have failed to timely report voter rolls to the statewide SURE database. This issue needs to be resolved, which is why I support Senator Aument’s legislation to address that problem. The simple truth is that the flawed SURE database should not be used to insinuate intentional fraud.
Pushing narratives that are blatantly false only takes away from the legitimate concerns that voters across the Commonwealth have about our election – problems that we desperately need to correct. If we are not completely honest and forthright in our efforts to restore integrity to the election process, we risk seeing the damage created during this election cycle become the norm. For the future of our republic, we cannot allow this to happen.
John Adams, one of our nation’s founding fathers, once said that “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” These wise words should be our guiding principle as we move forward.
Republicans who stand for the rule of law are not the enemy. We need a united front to confront the real enemy: those who wish to turn all of our elections into a partisan disaster. I encourage Pennsylvanians to join me in rejecting the information that is spread to manipulate and mislead you, and instead channel that energy into supporting the kind of investigation and election reforms which will restore fairness and trust in democracy. Our nation deserves nothing less.