President Trump is heading to western Pennsylvania on Thursday to tout the new tax cut law, returning to the blue-collar voters who backed him in 2016 to highlight his efforts to “bring back” manufacturing jobs and revitalize the region.
In March, voters here will have their say, going to the polls in a special congressional election that is shaping up as the next test of whether voters are still on board the Trump train.
Mr. Trump will visit H&K Equipment near Pittsburgh, which the White House said enjoyed its best year ever in 2017 and is counting on write-offs in the new tax cut package to increase their investment in equipment by 50 percent this year.
“When they buy more trucks and equipment for their rental fleet, they hire more technicians to service them, buy more service vehicles to transport those techs from customer site to customer site, and buy more parts from their suppliers to keep the rental fleet running,” said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. “All of this economic activity spurred by the tax bill will result in more jobs, higher wages, and a brighter future.”
But local GOP officials say the main reason for Mr. Trump’s trip is to boost Rick Saccone, the GOP’s candidate in the special election for a district that stretches from the suburbs south of Pittsburgh to the state’s border with West Virginia.
He’s running against Democrat Conor Lamb, who labor unions are pushing as a chance for voters to send a message to Mr. Trump.
“We think there are a lot of disenfranchised voters here with a bit of buyer’s remorse from the last election,” said Tim Waters, director of the United Steelworkers political action committee.
Republicans are eager to avoid an embarrassing loss in a district that has been steadfast Republican for decades — particularly following an embarrassing loss in the recent Alabama Senate special election.
“For these guys to be this worried about this one race out here in western Pennsylvania it is a little telling,” Mr. Waters said, emphasizing that Mr. Lamb is the underdog in a district that Mr. Trump won the area by 20 percentage points 15 months ago. “I think certainly the other side, based on their actions, they clearly think this is some sort of Donald Trump referendum and the Republican candidate has done everything but say, ’’My name is Donald Trump.’”
Dave Majernik, vice chair of the Alleghany County GOP, said it is smart for Mr. Saccone to tie himself to Mr. Trump and downplayed the idea that the nearly 90,000 union members that call the district home could swing the election for Mr. Lamb.
“I think that a lot of union members in our area don’t necessarily go along with the leadership,” Mr. Majernik said. “I am sure the leadership will put a lot of money into the campaign but I think that that doesn’t always mean the rank-and-file will go along with them.”
Mr. Saccone backed the tax-cuts bill and says the Trump agenda has helped to bolster the economy and would lead to higher wages and happier workers.
“We’re already experiencing the tremendous impact of tax reform in the 18th district — and Rick will work tirelessly to continue advancing President Trump’s bold agenda in Congress,” said Bob Branstetter, a Saccone spokesman. “Rick Saccone enjoys broad support from rank-and-file union members who recognize his proven record of cutting taxes for working families.”
Mr. Lamb said the tax package was more of a giveaway to corporations than a gift for the working class. He said it will increase the national debt and increase the likelihood that lawmakers seek cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Union officials also said the effort took Mr. Trump’s focus away from the promises he made to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and battle China over currency manipulation and violations of trade agreements.
Mr. Trump’s populist message resonated in western Pennsylvania, where blue-collar workers have lived under a cloud of economic uncertainty since the great recession.
Many of them have blamed trade agreements supported by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Voters saw Mr. Trump as an agent of change, according to exit polls, which also showed he was also the top choice of voters living in the suburban and rural areas of the state, a well as those who thought the economy was in bad shape.
“There is no secret that the steel industry — especially in western Pennsylvania has suffered in the past decades,” said Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny-Fayette Central Labor Council, which is affiliated with the AFL-CIO, another Lamb supporter. “We believe Donald Trump made promises of hope to help our an industry. He ran upon this type of rhetoric and he has not delivered upon it. You don’t prey upon people that are looking for help and to make campaign promises and then fail to deliver upon those.”
On Mr. Trump’s watch, Mr. Kelly said five manufacturing plants closed in southwest Pennsylvania and more than 4,000 jobs were lost.
The Republican National Committee has defended Mr. Trump’s record, saying the president has jolted the economy back to life and a year into his presidency has he fulfilled his promise to revitalize “industries forgotten by Obama.”
They say the U.S. added 196,000 manufacturing jobs in 2017 after shedding 16,000 jobs in 2016. It marked the largest year-to-year gain since 2014, and Republicans say as of December there were “12.5 million manufacturing jobs in the United States, the highest since February 2009.”
Steel jobs, meanwhile, have climbed from 139,600 in 2016 to 143,900 in 2017. The most recent high came prior to the recession in 2008 when there were 160,2000 steel mill jobs, according to the Department of Labor.
Scott N. Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which was founded in party by the United Steelworkers, said the steel industry could be stronger if Mr. Trump followed through on promises to take hard line on China over trade and steel imports, which increased 18 percent in 2017.
“I feel like when it comes to Trump and steel there has been a lot of things that were sent out from the train station, but they have been derailed or they haven’t arrived at the destination yet,” Mr. Paul said.
The industry is hopeful that Mr. Trump will address NAFTA and the surge in imports through tariffs and quotas — which opponents warn could drive up manufacturing costs that would be passed onto the consumer — now that the Department of Commerce has handed over its finding in its probe into whether steel imports compromise U.S. national security.
The report was initially expected over the summer, but it took longer than expected, fueling criticism that the administration has been slow to act.
“I am hopeful the president will do the right thing because it is important to national security and it is going to be hard to talk to voters in western Pennsylvania if you are going to side with the Chinese on this rather than the domestic steel industry,” Mr. Paul said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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