Dwelling on voter polls wasn’t among the Election Day plans for a group of local Republicans.
Instead, the group – seated around a table at the Republican Party of Berks County’s fall dinner Thursday – talked about how they plan to make Tuesday’s election about Republicans showing up to vote Gov. Tom Corbett into a second term.
They’re making phone calls. They’re knocking on doors. They’re arranging rides for voters who need helping getting to the polls.
They’re explaining, to anyone who will listen, why they think Corbett’s been taking the state in the right direction and why they worry that his Democratic challenger, Tom Wolf, won’t.
“I feel excited,” said Carla D’Addesi, 43, of Wyomissing. “I think that we can win. I think it’s going to be a close race. But I think that we can win.”
Berks Republicans gathered at the Abraham Lincoln hotel in Reading for dinner and to rally support before Tuesday’s election. Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley gave the keynote speech to the crowd of elected officials and party members.
Dinner attendees said they see new momentum behind Corbett’s re-election bid and hope strong turnout from Republican voters can overcome Wolf’s polling lead.
Cawley addressed the importance of rallying votes during his speech. He said if party members keep working hard, they’ll see the payoff on Election Day.
“Come Nov. 4, we’re not going to be celebrating just another four years,” Cawley said. “We’re going to be celebrating a recommitment to that bright future.”
Berks Democrats held a similar event with their lieutenant governor nominee, state Sen. Mike Stack, earlier in the month.
While Wolf’s lead in voter polls has been closing, he’s still leading Corbett by 13 percentage points, according to the latest Franklin & Marshall College poll which was released Wednesday. Analysts say Corbett’s going to have to pull off a big upset to overcome that deficit.
But regardless of who wins the race for governor, Republicans can likely expect some good news Election Day.
Political analysts project that Republicans are favored in the three contested Congressional races in Berks County. And it’s unlikely that the party will lose its majorities in the state House and Senate.
John A. Fielding, Berks GOP chairman, said he’s optimistic Republicans can rally Corbett’s supporters to the polls. He said he sees that starting to happen already.
“It’s moving in the right direction,” he said of momentum behind Corbett. “It’s just, like anything else in any campaign, you want it to peak on Election Day, not three days later.”
Fielding said the Berks party’s focus will be on making sure Republicans are planning to vote and are able to get to the polls.
And while there’s been a lot of focus on the governor’s race in Pennsylvania, he said, Republicans have good reason to be excited about their chances on the federal level. His hope is that frustration with President Barack Obama’s administration will lead to success for GOP candidates in U.S. House and Senate races.
Lee Hummel, 82, of Wyomissing said he’s hoping for big Republican wins nationally. Although Pennsylvania wouldn’t have a say in it this year, he wants to see the GOP take the Senate.
“What I really want to see, I want to see them kick (U.S. Senate majority leader) Harry Reid all the way back to Nevada,” Hummel said.
He has mixed feelings about the state races.
Hummel said he’s pulling for Corbett. But he’s seen the polls and isn’t sure the governor can overcome that gap. But, he said, it’s looking like Republicans will keep control of the state Legislature, which could keep Wolf in check if he wins the governor’s race.
Cawley came to the dinner after making some appearances in downtown Reading earlier in the day.
After a lunch at The Ugly Oyster, he joined officials from the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and others involved in the redevelopment of the Penn Street corridor for a short stroll.
Starting at Santander Arena, the group viewed the progress of the new $56 million Doubletree Hotel, scheduled to be completed next year. From there, they walked west on Penn Street, stopping to chat about various businesses and projects along the way.
Cawley expressed optimism during the walk, commenting on new signs that direct visitors to various downtown attractions and saying he expects office space to soon fill up.
“It’s only temporary,” he said of the vacancies.
(Reporter David Mekeel contributed to this story.)
Contact Liam Migdail-Smith: 610-371-5022 or lsmith@readingeagle.com.
