The Case Against Jeremy Shaffer

To: Interested Parties
From: James Singer, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date:  May 17, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Jeremy Shaffer

Jeremy Shaffer is a MAGA wolf pretending to be a moderate sheep. In Congress, Shaffer would be a vote for a radical Republican party intent on stripping away health care protections, abortion rights, and attacking our sacred institutions to force their far-right agenda on the American people.

Shaffer has made clear he’ll do anything to put himself ahead, smearing an opponent with fake signs and allegedly coordinating illegally with a far-right PAC. Even Shaffer’s fellow Republicans are calling out his dirty election schemes.

Chris Deluzio, a veteran and voting rights attorney, has the record western Pennsylvania can be proud of. An election security expert, Deluzio will fight against voter suppression efforts from Republicans and defend our right to vote. His north star is fighting for western PA, for better jobs, greater opportunity, and defending union, worker, and women’s rights.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING 

HEADLINE: “Leaked GOP memo calls for ethics investigation into Republican PAC.” [City & State PA,  5/10/18]

Headline: “GOP Campaign Staffer Tied To Group Behind Lawn Signs Labeling Democrat As Socialist.”  [WESA, 10/15/18]

2018: Shaffer Said He Supported Efforts To Create And Disseminate Campaign Signs That Looked Nearly Identical To His Opponent’s, But Identified Her As A “Socialist.” “‘Even before the lawsuit, the race was  heating up – Republicans recently began an intensive effort to label Ms. Williams as a ‘socialist.’ Ms. Williams did  seek the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America in December 2017. This past weekend, campaign  signs that looked like hers – but weren’t authorized by her campaign – popped up around the North Hills and  featured the word ‘Socialist’ in large red and white letters beneath her name. Mr. Shaffer’s campaign did not  respond directly to a question about who was responsible for the signs, but the candidate said he ‘supports the  efforts of the various groups trying to make her political positions known.’ ‘We are confused as to why she doesn’t  embrace her membership and consider these signs a ‘positive message’ since she wanted the Socialist endorsement,’ Mr. Shaffer said. ‘I will personally donate money to her campaign so she can make more of these signs herself.””  [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/16/18]

In A Questionnaire, Shaffer Said He Supported The Federal Government Limiting Abortion If Roe v. Wade Was Overturned. [Web Archive, PA Family Voter Questionnaire, Jeremy Shaffer, Archived 5/3/22]

• Shaffer Said He Believed Any Federal Action On Restricting Abortion Should Be In The Form Of A Constitutional Amendment. “Jeremy Shaffer’s answer has been the Republican default position for years: ‘I believe very strongly in our federal system of government, which means that when hopefully Roe v. Wade is overturned, it will revert back to the individual states’ to decide. Shaffer added that he believes any federal action should be in the form of a constitutional amendment. Otherwise, he warned, ‘any time the Democrats are in power, then it’s going to flip to the extreme.’” [WESA, 5/5/22]

In A Questionnaire, Shaffer Said He Supported Defunding Planned Parenthood And Other Organizations That “Perform Or Refer For Abortions.” [Web Archive, PA Family Voter Questionnaire, Jeremy Shaffer, Archived 5/3/22]

In A Questionnaire, Shaffer Said He Opposed The Equality Act. [Web Archive, PA Family Voter Questionnaire, Jeremy Shaffer, Archived 5/3/22]

Shaffer is an opportunist who has shown that he will always put his interests before Pennsylvania families.

Aligned With MAGA Republicans

Shaffer has been backed by extremist Republicans in Washington who would devastate PA-17.

They opposed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that would help rebuild the more than 3,300 bridges and 7,540 miles of highway in poor condition in Pennsylvania that cost Pennsylvania drivers $620 per-year.  In total, these Republicans opposed more than $18 billion  to improve Pennsylvania roads, bridges, high speed internet access, and clean water access.

They want to overturn Roe v. Wade just as Shaffer does.

They want to repeal health care protections for millions of Americans.

They opposed helping families and businesses recover from the pandemic. Shaffer’s GOP backers voted against swaths of aid to small businesses, including $28.6 billion for direct relief funds for restaurants and other business owners, including in Pennsylvania. As schools worked to reopen and get children back in classrooms, this meant opposing $5 billion in funding for K-12 schools and higher education in Pennsylvania.

Shaffer’s Anti-Choice Extremism Is A Direct Threat To Pennsylvania Women 

Shaffer has openly supported overturning Roe v. Wade and signaled support for a constitutional amendment to restrict abortion access nationwide.

Screwing Over Western PA

In his time in public office, Shaffer has shown a propensity to screw over Western Pennsylvania.

Shaffer has both donated to, and been supported by, the “Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania” (CAP), a far-right group that has supported eliminating guaranteed health care coverage for those with pre-existing conditions, passing anti-labor (right-to-work) laws, eliminating prevailing wage laws for public construction projects, and funneling tax dollars to private schools.

In 2014, Shaffer was the only commissioner in Ross to vote against a town budget to increase public safety and fire protections.  In 2020, Shaffer again was the only commissioner in Ross to vote against the township budget to fund the police department and road improvements.

In 2018, Shaffer called on Pennsylvania lawmakers to end an $800 million funding source for police across Pennsylvania – endangering communities across the Commonwealth.

Most dangerously, Shaffer is a proponent of zero based-budgeting, which was proven ineffective and was abandoned by Republican President Ronald Reagan. It would threaten military, education, Social Security, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act funding.

Dirty Trickster

Shaffer is known to pull dirty tricks during his campaigns. In 2018, Pennsylvania state Republicans called for an ethics investigation into Shaffer’s campaign illegally coordinating with a far-right PAC which contributed to assist Shaffer in his campaign. In that same campaign, Shaffer distributed fake political campaign signs by his opponent to smear her.

PATH TO VICTORY

Located largely in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA-17 is the most highly-educated district in Pennsylvania outside of the Philadelphia area (42.1% of residents ages 25 and over) and has been trending Democratic in recent elections. PA-17 is the only Romney 2012/Clinton 2016 district in Pennsylvania, and President Biden improved even further on Hillary Clinton’s performance, winning 53.0% of the major-party vote in 2020. Redistricting has also made PA-17 more Democratic, as President Biden performed 1.6 points worse in the old version of the district. In 2018, Governor Wolf and Senator Casey each carried the district by margins of around 20 points, winning 60.0% and 61.8% of the major-party vote, respectively. With Senate nominee John Fetterman hailing from the Pittsburgh area, Chris Deluzio and other Democrats are well-positioned to build on the positive trends in PA-17.

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