CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Former US Attorney General William Barr and other Republican leaders hit the campaign trail this week — not to promote any candidacies of their own but to lend a hand to Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who remains behind Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in the polls.
McCormick focused his remarks on border security. “We have to match a reformed legal immigration system with a strong, secure border that ensures that illegal immigration — which threatens us in so many ways — comes to a halt,” he said.
The Republican spoke Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh-adjacent Butler County at the fifth leg of his “Building America’s Future” policy tour. Titled “Safer Communities,” it followed four sessions on China, energy policy, “shaking up” Washington and a “pro-family” agenda.
Joining McCormick were Barr, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett and 2024 Attorney General candidate Dave Sunday — who moderated a panel discussion with the four men and two local leaders.
During the discussion, McCormick called for America to use its military in the fight against Mexico’s cartels, which he blamed for the “scourge of fentanyl” that killed more than 4,000 Pennsylvanians last year.
“We need to go across the border into Mexico and destroy the cartels and use our military capability in a very targeted, sophisticated way,” he said.
The Senate candidate also proposed completing the construction of former President Donald Trump’s border wall to curb illegal crossings.
“We have to destroy the cartels and stop that flow [of fentanyl]. So we have to finish the wall, we have to fund the Border Patrol, we have to have adequate security at the border.”
Barr — who served as attorney general under both Trump and President George H.W. Bush — and the other leaders largely focused on crime threats posed by “revolving-door justice” policies urban Democrats often push.
One percent of the population accounts for a majority of the “predatory violence” crimes committed in most wealthy societies, Barr said.
Government crime policies must then protect the other 99% of citizens by ensuring significant penalties for repeated offenders — including juveniles.
“The only chance we have at turning around some of these lives is to intervene early,” Barr said of dealing with juvenile crime.
Corbett — who was governor from 2011 to 2015 — expressed his opposition to marijuana legalization while acknowledging the next big thing is already on its way.
“There’s always going to be a new type of drug for one reason: demand,” he said.
One of the local leaders, Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe, became a hit with the audience when he spoke about the challenges law-enforcement officers face in the “Defund the police” era.
“You can’t find anybody to be a police officer these days,” Slupe said. “You’re either gonna get sued, or some government agency’s gonna arrest you for something!”
