Republican debate: A snapshot of reaction from a GOP debate party at a Pennsylvania bar
Salena Zito
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VERONA, Pennsylvania — A group of Western Pennsylvania Republicans and independent voters, along with several tavern customers who decided to join in to watch, gathered at the iconic Hula Bar last night to see how the Republican primary candidates for president discuss the issues of the economy, national security, and education that matter most to voters.
The watch party, hosted by Americans for Prosperity, drew over 40 people, all watching on the big screens in the bar to see the eight qualifying candidates meet onstage for the Fox News debate.
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Sherry Kai, a registered Republican and immigrant from China, said she and her husband have hosted political events before and she was just as curious as the attendees as to what a Republican debate was going to look like without Donald Trump dominating it.
Kai said in an interview this morning that she was not disappointed. “I thought DeSantis and Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley did a great job — they rose up and really had good moments last night.”
As an immigrant who is grateful to be in the United States, Kai said Ramaswamy’s enthusiasm for the United States connected with her. “I love how he just very enthusiastically and passionately declared his love to the country and the founding principles and the founding of the United States, very unapologetic. It’s very refreshing because you don’t see that too often, especially with the younger people.”
Mary Beth Cirucci, the coalitions coordinator for AFP, said she thought from the perspective of her libertarian conservative political advocacy group that the biggest winner last night was conservative policies.
“They hit all the issues that Americans for Prosperity wanted to see discussed, and they had some substantive debate and content, and that’s what we want to see,” said Cirucci, a Western Pennsylvania native.
“I love how they really hammered Joe Biden’s Bidenomics because it’s crushing the American people with inflation, with gas prices, food prices, and his energy policy,” she said.
Cirucci said AFP wanted discussion on a stronger immigration system that supports legal immigration, education, and the national security issue and was happy that was all on the table. “And I think those were all main issues that are [in] direct contrast with the current administration, and I hope we see some more substance like that in the future.”
Springdale native Shawn Fitzgerald, 31, says he has been a lifelong Republican who has voted for Trump twice but is not wedded to voting for him again in a primary.
“I approached the debate as being open and interested to hear what everybody was going to talk about, about the issues that we’re dealing with right now to see where everybody’s at,” he said.
Fitzgerald said he found the candidates refreshingly diverse in their ages, positions, and experiences, “yet they were pretty unified overall on the issues and that was good to see,” he added.
His top choices mirrored Kai’s: “I’m impressed with the choices that we have. DeSantis and Haley stood out for myself, personally. And it was my first time really hearing Vivek talk in a long format, so it was good to see them all contrasted on one stage together.”
Steve Schlauch, the chairman of the Republican Committee in Plum, said he tried to be as open-minded as he could going into the night’s debate. “I was ready to be open to whoever has the best vision for the Republican Party to lead this country forward because we definitely clearly need a change from the policies and leadership that we’re getting from Biden,” he said.
Schlauch said in politics, things are always evolving, “so you have to try to keep an open mind, and be open to a lot of different scenarios out there because a lot can change between now and next year.”
Schlauch, 40, said there are a lot of scenarios and variables out there that could affect any candidate.
“I think we all can respect the fact that we need good vision, maybe possibly a new vision for the Republican Party, one that’s going to not only appeal to its own base, but also try to appeal to the rest of the people as well, because at the end of the day, part of politics is not only governing, but it’s getting elected,” he said.
His top choices after the debate? Almost the same as the other two, minus Ramaswamy. “Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, because they’re both governors. DeSantis, governor of Florida, probably the best-run state in the country. He’s arguably the best governor in the country. You got Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina.”
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Like the other voters, they liked that both DeSantis and Haley have good governing under their belts and a willingness to punch back. Ramaswamy, for many of the attendees, got points for projecting aspiration and being a fresh face.
“I think maybe leaning towards DeSantis,” said Schlauch. “Only because he takes a pretty good leadership role on most of the issues. He’s on the right side of the issues. He understands politics. He has experience governing a major state. Florida is a well-run state.”