More than 200 Democratic and Independent voters braved the sweltering heat Saturday for a chance to meet California Governor Gavin Newsom in a rally to support President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ reelection.
Newsom warned the crowd that if Trump wins, his presidency will be dedicated to rolling back rights.
“They want to roll back to a pre-1960s world, and you are the front lines of that opposition. You are the folks who can make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said. “Voting rights. Civil rights. LGBTQ rights. Women’s rights. Not just access to abortion. Access to contraception. All of those things are on the ballot. Bucks County, we are counting on you. The world is counting on you. I’m counting on you.”
The Help Save Democracy rally, sponsored by 2024 PA Victory and Pennsylvania For Biden-Harris, also featured local Democrats.
State Senators Steve Santarsiero and Sharif Street, State Representative Tim Brennan, Bucks County Commissioners Bob Harvie and Diane Marseglia, and Ashley Ehasz, who is running to defeat Brian Fitzpatrick in the upcoming election, all shared the stage with Newsom.
“Bucks County is ground zero for this year’s election and it could decide the Presidency, the Senate and control of our legislatures,” said Brennan. “The people here have the power to send a clear message to Donald Trump: Hands off our democracy. We have four months, four months to tell our neighbors and friends what’s at stake in this election because the stakes couldn’t be higher.”
Santersiero, who is also chair of Bucks County Democrats, underscored the importance of the next four months as well. “The next 121 days … will determine a bright future or a darker future. Donald Trump is the worst president in history and a damaged human being.”
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Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia said that she couldn’t think of a better way to spend the 4th of July weekend. “Bucks County beat Donald Trump in 2020 and his minions in November. We can beat them one more time,” said Marseglia. “As goes Bucks County, so goes PA and the nation.”
Local Democrats are ready to answer the call.
Steve Cickay said he was there “to show Bucks County and the nation that Democrats are united behind the Biden/Harris ticket.” He said he left feeling inspired. “I want to do more to help Dems win and save our democracy and prevent women and of course my granddaughter from becoming second class citizens controlled by distant politicians.”
Democrat Dana Rollins traveled from Langhorne to the event.
“For me, the most important point in the rally came well before Gavin Newsom took the microphone. As I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow Democrats, I realized the real heat of the moment wasn’t from the oppressive summer weather—it was from the ever-present knowledge our democracy is under threat and we are desperately looking for ways to protect it,” said Rollins. “That’s where Ashley Ehasz comes in…Ehasz is the one on the Bucks County ballot. Voting for her is our way to turn the energy of the day into action.”
Ehasz has been campaigning on protecting reproductive freedom, while highlighting Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick’s anti-choice record and his broader support of the MAGA agenda.
Kierstyn Piotrowski Zolfo attended as an Indivisible Bucks County volunteer. She said her group has recently partnered with The Democratic Messaging Project and was there “giving out ‘protect yourself from Republicans condoms,’ which are an amazing conversation starter to enable an exchange about MAGA enabler Brian Fitzpatrick’s awful record on reproductive freedoms, including his previous vote for a national abortion ban.”
Sue-Ann DiVito, Cofounder of Immigrant Rights Action and board member of Amigos Community Center, explained that she attended to support the whole Democratic slate locally.
“It’s important for us to vote Democrat up and down the ticket because each office has a specific function in protecting our rights and values. It is especially important to elect Ashley Ehasz to congress,” she said. “We need the majority in the house to continue to move forward on the visions for the nation we have. The Republican majority in Congress vote against so many protections for our family and youth.”
DiVito, the mother of a trans woman, said LGBTQ issues are important to her. And she added the Biden administration’s record speaks for itself.
“Every single economic indicator is up, unemployment is at record lows. They follow the Constitution; they have stood up for the LGBTQ+ community and they support reproductive freedom,” added DiVito. “They are working on infrastructure and job creation. They have passed a common sense GVP bill. It isn’t just about keeping the last administration out; it’s about continuing the great progress of the Biden-Harris administration.”
The elephant in the room, or at the rally, was Biden’s poor debate performance and suggestions by some Democrats that the president should bow out of the race for a younger, fresher face. Newsom, who is largely recognized as a future presidential candidate, nevertheless stood firm behind President Biden.
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Cickay said “a 90-minute goof should not negate years of accomplishments and future possibilities for the American people.”
Combat veteran and pro-choice advocate Ashley Ehazs who is determined to be sworn in as our 1st Congressional District Congress person reminded the listeners, “This election will have consequences that outlive all of us.”
And with Project 2025 as Trump’s guidebook for his potential second term, that does in fact look to roll back civil rights, women’s rights, environmental, and other progress made in the last century, all while gutting the federal government and filling the vacuum with MAGA/Trump loyalists, Ehasz’s forecast for our democracy and this next election rings true.
