Near the core of their beliefs on American politics and voting in elections, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity and state Sen. Cris Dush both prefer that ballots be cast at polling places on Election Day.

But on Thursday evening at the McKean County Republican Committee’s annual spring dinner, both urged any Republican in Pennsylvania — particularly those in rural counties — who cannot make it to their polling place in November to make sure they cast their ballot by mail. Both Garrity and Dush, speaking at the Pennhills Club, said Democrats count on the ambivalence Republicans show for mail-in voting to keep GOP participation down in November. But the stakes are too high in Pennsylvania, they said — both in state elections and as the key battleground contest for president — for one Republican to miss casting a ballot.

Garrity, from Bradford County and unopposed in the April 23 GOP primary in her bid for a second term, noted that the Democrats control the Pennsylvania House by a tiny margin, while Democrats hold the governor’s seat and the state’s two U.S. Senate seats.

“The only thing that separates us from becoming New York is control of the state Senate and a Republican treasurer and a Republican auditor general, and all of those things are going to be on the line in November,” Garrity, Thursday evening’s featured speaker, said. “Above all else we need people to show up and we need to make sure that every voter in McKean County knows how important this election is and how important they are to our Republican candidates.”

And a critical factor, she said, is mail-in voting so rural Republicans can help offset the demographics the Democrats enjoy in the cities — particularly in Pennsylvania’s key electoral battle between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

“There is only one person who benefits from Republicans not embracing mail-ins and it’s not Donald Trump, it’s not me — it’s Joe Biden,” she said. “The surest way for all of us to lose in November is by ignoring mail-ins.”

Garrity stated she doesn’t like the growing prevalence of mail-in balloting, but she said it should not be confused with “ballot harvesting,” the process of individuals or operatives collecting voters’ completed ballots and submitting them for counting. Opponents believe such a process can be too easily corrupted at election time.

“Now, personally, I don’t like (mail-ins) … and I’m sure most of you do as well, but I do trust they are safe,” Garrity said. “President Trump also trusts they are safe — in fact, President Trump voted by mail in 2020.”

Dush, at the forefront of questioning the legality of 2020’s presidential vote in Pennsylvania (won by Biden by 1.2%) and the debate over election security overall, also encouraged Republicans to embrace mail-in voting in November, noting that the precedent for submitting ballots by mail has long been the absentee ballot.

“These are not the drop boxes,” he explained, calling the drop box method unconstitutional. “We need to make use of mail-in ballots” to be successful in November.

Dush, of Brookville and unopposed for nomination to seek another term in November, said he has been encouraged by the involvement of young conservatives in central Pennsylvania, particularly in college towns like State College and Lock Haven.

“We’re seeing that there are some really dedicated people who are now the counter-culture to what has been happening at so many of our campuses,” he said.

For the upcoming primary, the deadline to request a mail-in or absentee ballot is 5 p.m. April 16 and all ballots must be received by 8 p.m. April 23.

State Rep. Martin Causer of Turtlepoint, also unopposed for nomination to run for another term, said, “This is the year that we have to take our country back. We are all seeing what’s going on in Washington, D.C. It’s a complete fiasco. … and electing Donald Trump is a way of taking our country back.

He added that many of the same political and cultural challenges emanating from Washington can be found in Harrisburg.

“The Democrats control, by one seat right now, the (state) House of Representatives,” Causer said. “So guess what we get to hear about every single week in Harrisburg? We hear about gun control, we hear about taxation, we hear about getting rid of fossil fuels. These are the things that (the Democrats are) focused on.

“(Republicans are) focused on putting people back to work,” he continued, “putting people back to work in our energy industry, in our factories and on our farms — all of these jobs are critically important, but in Harrisburg some people want to pick winners and losers.”

He noted, as GOP chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, that north central Pennsylvania is “energy rich. … We have to be utilizing those resources.” But Democrats in Harrisburg want to hinder or even abandon Pennsylvania’s position as an important energy producer, he said.

Causer said he hopes Republicans can retake the state House in November so the chamber can work with the state Senate to, “quite frankly, box Gov. Josh Shapiro in” on the Democrats’ agenda to increase taxes and regulation that stifle economic growth.

The House member also extolled Garrity, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 as well as in the Iraq War and retired as a colonel in the Reserves, as a rising figure in the state GOP and, looking ahead, said he’d give his full support if she ever decided to run for governor.

County GOP chairman Ken Kane, who emceed the event, also introduced Causer’s son, Matthew M. Causer, 27, who will be on the April 23 primary ballot for delegate to the Republican National Convention for the 15th Congressional District.

ON THE APRIL 23 PRIMARY BALLOTTrump and Biden are unopposed in the respective Pennsylvania primaries for president. In the U.S. Senate primaries, incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat seeking a fourth term, is unopposed as is Republican David McCormick.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Centre County, is unopposed for nomination to run again in his 15th District; Zacheray Womer of Philipsburg filed petitions to run as a Democrat.

In the region, Rajeev Pradhan of Port Allegany filed petitions to be on the Democratic ballot in the 67th Legislative District to challenge Causer. William McGill, of Clinton County, is waging a write-in campaign for the Democratic nomination to challenge Dush in the 25th District.

For state attorney general, five Democrats filed: Rep. Jared Solomon of Philadelphia, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, former state auditor general Eugene DePasquale, former federal prosecutor Joe Kahn and the former head of public defense lawyers for Philadelphia County, Keir Bradford-Grey. On the Republican side, York County District Attorney David Sunday is running, while Wendell Craig Williams, a member of the House of Representatives and a former federal prosecutor, also filed.

Eric Settle, a former Montgomery County Republican who served on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s transition team, is running on the Forward Party ticket.

For state treasurer, Democratic candidates Ryan Bizzarro of Erie and Erin McClelland of Allegheny County hope to challenge Garrity. Chris Foster, former Democrat from Allegheny County, is running on the Forward Party ticket.

For auditor general, Democrats Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta of Philadelphia and Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley are running, while incumbent Tim DeFoor, a Republican, is unopposed in the primary.