Kamala Harris 'has become toxic' for Pennsylvania, top Keystone State lawmaker says

FEASTERVILLE, Pennsylvania— House Chief Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of a campaign swing with former President Donald Trump that Vice President Kamala Harris is "toxic" for the Keystone State.

Reschenthaler, who represents Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District, campaigned with Trump on Sunday across the state. 

"He’s fighting hard," Trump said of Reschenthaler Sunday afternoon. "He wants us to win." 

Trump’s comments about the congressman came during his visit to McDonald’s in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, where he traded in his signature suit jacket for an apron to learn how to cook French fries and deliver them to customers from the drive-thru window.

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The visit was intended to slam Harris for her claim that she was once a worker for the fast-food chain. 

"It is important to highlight that Harris has repeatedly lied — and so has [Gov. Tim] Walz — on this campaign trail," Reschenthaler told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the visit. "And you have President Trump who is willing to call out his opponent on being loose with the facts." 

He added: "It just reminds voters again that Harris has misrepresented her past, and President Trump is going and connecting with the people of Pennsylvania." 

The Harris campaign blasted the McDonald's visit as a "staged photo-op," saying Trump "doesn't understand what it's like to work for a living," and saying the vice president "has a record of standing up for workers and taking on bad actors who rip people off, and she’ll do the same as President."

Reschenthaler, who is up for re-election and hoping to seek a fourth term, says he is "feeling very good" with his own race, and is now focusing on helping Trump and other Republicans win in Pennsylvania. 

The congressman pointed to new ads airing in the state from incumbent Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., in his race against Republican Dave McCormick. 

Casey’s ad highlights how he "bucked Biden" and "sided" with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China to "stop them from cheating." The ad highlights the Democrat senator as an "independent," and features a Republican woman and her Democrat husband. It does not mention Vice President Harris. 

"As soon as I saw that ad where he was trying to tie himself to Trump, I knew — they’ve got to be seeing what we’re seeing in terms of internal polling — that Trump is surging," Reschenthaler said. "They know that Trump has taken the lead, and they know that Harris has become toxic." 

"That is the only reason why you would have a seasoned Democratic senator like Casey disavowing Harris and trying to tie himself to Trump," he continued. "He sees the numbers." 

Reschenthaler said he also thinks the ad shows that there is a "real chance that McCormick has a shot at beating Casey." 

"People are going to come out and vote for Trump and Republicans down ballot, which will help us — not only in the Senate, but will help us in the competitive congressional districts as well," he said. 

Later Sunday, Reschenthaler joined Trump at a town hall hosted by Sage Steele in Lancaster, Pa., and then attended the Pittsburgh Steeler's game against the New York Jets with the former president. 

Reschenthaler told Fox News Digital that Pennsylvania is "such a critical state." 

"They don’t call us the Keystone State for nothing," Reschenthaler said, predicting that whoever wins Pennsylvania "is likely going to win this election." 

"That is why it is so important for President Trump and Republicans to put up big numbers here in Pennsylvania," he said. 

The chief deputy whip told Fox News Digital that it is "critical" for Republicans to gain traction in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and of Philadelphia while also getting voter turnout in the more rural parts of the state. As for the most important issues for Pennsylvanians, Reschenthaler said voters are focused on the economy, jobs, inflation and energy, stressing the importance of the natural gas industry for the state. 

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"And then you also have immigration, which is usually No. 2 or 3 in voters’ concerns," he continued. "Everybody says, ‘Yeah, but Pennsylvania is not a border state,’ but under Harris’ reckless and dangerous far-left policies of the border, every state is now a border state."

Reschenthaler said voters in his district, specifically in Southwestern Pennsylvania, have "definitely seen a difference" since the Trump administration. 

"They are struggling to afford groceries, gasoline, heating bills — just utilities in general," he said, while noting that "real wage growth is actually decreasing under Harris," but recalled the increasing wage growth under the Trump administration, especially for minorities.

"That’s another reason why President Trump is doing so well with minority populations, which, historically for Republicans, we've had a difficulty reaching minorities," he said. "But not President Trump — he transcends that."

According to a new USA Today/Suffolk University Poll, Harris has fallen back in support among Latino and Black voters in the seven weeks between surveys. The new poll found Latino voters now back Trump by 49% to 38%. Black voters prefer Harris by 72% to 17%, but that 55-point edge is significantly less than the advantage Democrats traditionally enjoy. 

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The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.