Ray's Round Up: 2016 Presidential Candidates Campaign in PA

This week the news isn’t about what your elected officials are doing (with one big exception which will be mentioned later) but who your elected officials will be as we move into 2017 and beyond.  April 26 is primary election day in Pennsylvania, and Democrats and Republicans will be choosing the candidates who will be the nominees of their political parties for the November general election.  This year Pennsylvanians will be electing an Attorney General, an Auditor General, a State Treasurer, a United States Senator, Representatives to the U.S. House of Representatives, one-half of the Pennsylvania State Senate and Representatives to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

There is one more political office to be filled through this year’s election – the President of the United States.  Pennsylvania voters in the Republican and Democratic primaries will be able to express their preference for a Presidential candidate, but what they will also do is elect delegates to the political party conventions to be held later this summer.  In many years, the primary election for President in Pennsylvania has been a formality – by late April the nominee has often been decided by voters in states with earlier primaries.  This year, however, neither political party has settled on their Presidential nominee – so voters in the Pennsylvania primary have some influence.  The five remaining candidates have been on the campaign trail, making whirlwind appearances across the Commonwealth, hoping to convince voters they are the right person to be our next President.

 

Across the country, AARP has been pressing the Presidential candidates to Take A Stand on the future of Social Security.  Over the past week or so, volunteers and AARP members have been fanning out across Pennsylvania to be part of the events as the candidates have come to the Keystone State.  Whether they have been in Reading, Philadelphia, Hershey or other locations, AARP PA has been there encouraging the campaigns and attendees to make addressing the future solvency of Social Security a key component of the storyline of this Presidential race.  The few days remaining before the primary will see candidates in even more places in Pennsylvania – look for AARP PA there -- but also take this issue into your own hands and urge the candidates to tell us what their plans are for Social Security.  Four of the five remaining Presidential candidates have provided details of how they would address this concern – you can read about their views at AARP’s Take A Stand web page.  AARP would like to hear more details about their plans to keep Social Security strong. Right now, there isn’t enough attention on Social Security in the media, during debates, or even on the campaign trail.

Going forward, it’s not only the Presidential candidates who need to Take A Stand on Social Security.  The next Congress will play an equal role in determining the future of the program.  As we approach the fall elections, AARP PA will be asking all candidates for the US House of Representatives and US Senate to describe their plans.  If you’d like to be involved in this effort, please contact us via paaarp @ aarp dot org.

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Last week I wrote about the General Assembly’s approval of the CARE Act.  The big news this week is that the CARE Act is now law in Pennsylvania.  Governor Tom Wolf signed the bill on April 20, officially designating it as Act 20 of 2016 in the Commonwealth.  The provisions of the CARE Act will go into effect April 20, 2017.

 

“Ray’s Round Up” features updates on current state and federal issues by Ray Landis, AARP PA’s Advocacy Manager.