PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Sen. Bob Casey on Thursday courted Black voters in Philadelphia with the help of his New Jersey colleague, Sen. Cory Booker, at a church in Northwest Philadelphia.
Bishop J. Louis Felton emceed the two senators’ visit to Prince of Peace Church in Strawberry Mansion. He had hosted President Joe Biden at his own church in Mt. Airy, last month.
Felton said people sometimes look askance at mixing church and politics, but he sees a connection.
“We come together today so the church can take a stand for justice, for integrity, for freedom and for a better future for us all,” he said.
Only the venue was unusual for Casey. His message was his standard campaign appeal: “I’ve worked very hard to deliver for the people of this city, whether it’s money for schools in Philadelphia, for roads and bridges and high-speed internet, for water systems ….”
Casey touted his record of defending voting rights, Social Security, health care and bringing home billions in federal dollars to the state, while attacking Republican David McCormick for his support of tax cuts for the highest earners.
“This is a battle, I think, for the ages, in this election," said Casey.
The congregation were clearly already fans. It could be said Casey was preaching to the choir. But with a close race predicted between Casey and McCormick, Booker stressed how crucial voter turnout in Philadelphia will be in November. He urged the congregation to work on it.
“If we use our power over the next 80 days — that we come out and vote, that we organize, that we call our friends and neighbors and get them to the polls — we will have Kamala Harris in the highest office in the land and Bob Casey back in the United States Senate.”
The Democratic appeal to Black voters came as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign faced renewed criticism on race, after a campaign account published an immigration-related post on X with side-by-side photos — one, of a well-ordered, suburban-looking street, absent of people, labeled “Your neighborhood under Trump;” the other, showing the sidewalk crowded with Black- and brown-skinned people in front of a boarded-up urban storefront, labeled “Your neighborhood under Kamala.”
The Trump campaign denied criticism that the post was racist.
The McCormick campaign did not respond to a request for comment.