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Candidates for state and federal offices shared their views at the annual Lycoming County Democratic Committee Dinner at times blasting their political opponents in the process.
The candidates were Erin McClelland, nominee for state treasurer; Eugene DePasquale, nominee for state attorney general; Amanda Waldman, 9th Congress; Zach Womer, 15th Congress; and Denitra Moffett, 23rd state Senate.
McClelland, who is challenging Republican Stacy Garrity in the November election, told the audience gathered at the American Legion Post 104, Montoursville, it's important that Democrats get back that office.
She noted that Garrity is, among other things, an election denier and does not support a woman's right to an abortion.
"I'm pro-choice. She's not," McClelland said.
She called for ensuring the pension accounts of state employees.
"We lost the seat in 2020," she said. "It's really important that we get it back."
McClelland is a former small business owner with a career in substance abuse and mental health counseling, project managing and program directing.
DePasquale said he is a fighter for those who need a helping hand.
"I know struggle," he said.
He referred to his father, a Vietnam veteran who became addicted to painkillers and ended up in prison.
"I know what can happen," he said.
He called for protecting people's right to health coverage rather than giving the power to the insurers.
He said he backs reproductive rights of women, not just in Pennsylvania but across the nation. He claimed his opponent, Republican Dave Sunday, has failed to speak on the issue.
DePasquale, a former auditor general and state House member, also said his opponent refused to concede that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election.
DePasquale threw his support behind auditor general candidate Malcolm Kenyatta, who was to appear at the dinner but was unable to attend.
Waldman, of Mill Creek Township, said she is passionate about supporting a woman's right to choose. When the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, she realized that she suddenly had fewer rights than when she was born.
She called her opponent, incumbent Republican Dan Meuser, "Do-nothing Dan." Waldman noted he voted against support for Ukraine and is more in line with corporate agriculture than the small struggling farmer.
Furthermore, she said Meuser is against lowering prescription drug costs such as insulin.
"He takes money from Big Pharma," she said.
Waldman, a financial representative in the Medicare industry, said if elected she will employ a common-sense approach.
Womer, a graduate of Denison University and now a law student, said he grew up impoverished in Centre County and never dreamed he'd be running for Congress. Just four years ago, he was working construction and delivering pizza.
He feels he understands the struggles of the many impoverished residents of the 15th House District, unlike his opponent, longtime incumbent Republican Glenn Thompson.
Beyond that, Womer said he feels obligated to help those people.
"We have less jobs there than before the pandemic in my district," he said.
Moffett, a U.S. Army veteran, said her opponent, incumbent Republican Gene Yaw, appears to be in office to help himself
The Loyalsock Township resident, who staged a write-in campaign in the April primary, noted the struggle for retirees trying to get by on pensions. She said she is strongly pro-union.
She will represent all the people, she said.
"I want to be a senator for everyone," she said.