Politics PA
In the game of politics, receiving positive national attention is never a bad thing. And on Thursday Republican Keith Rothfus, the Allegheny County attorney running for PA-12, got some when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — the world’s largest business organization — announced their endorsement.
With the endorsement in hand, the Rothfus camp said in a press release that the choice in the general election for voters between him and incumbent Rep. Mark Critz (D-Cambria) is a simple one.
“With the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber, the National Federation of Independent Businesses and small business owners and workers across the district, the choice in this election is clear,” Rothfus said.
“We can either continue the failed economic policies of President Obama and Congressman Critz that have failed to create jobs, or we can relight America by empowering the job creators and the people of southwestern PA.”
Critz spokesman Mike Mikus attacked the significance of the endorsement, saying that the Chamber of Commerce is a proponent of outsourcing U.S. jobs to nations such as China and India.
“Keith Rothfus doesn’t get it. The people of western Pennsylvania are struggling and yet he is proud to be endorsed by a group that works with the Chinese government to ship more American jobs overseas,” Mikus said in a press release.
“Mark Critz is fighting to end unfair trade deals that ship jobs overseas while Keith Rothfus is backed by the groups that think outsourcing jobs to China and India is a good thing for the American worker. That is the difference in this race.”
Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, cited Rothfus’ ability to “help produce sustained economic growth, help create more jobs and get our country back on track” as the reason for the endorsement.
Although the endorsement was largely expected — Republicans almost always receive the nod from the Chamber — it still opens the channels for outside donors in a contest that’s already being labeled as one of the most hotly contested in PA and across the U.S.
Read more: http://www.politicspa.com/chamber-of-commerce-endorses-rothfus/38731/