FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – While some national Republican leaders have decided not to endorse or support Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for President of the United States, Republican leaders in Venango County are supporting Trump.

(Photo: Senator Scott E. Hutchinson. Courtesy of Senator Hutchinson)

“My personal opinion is that I have been voting for forty years and this is the first time I’ve been excited to vote for somebody,” said Bob Martin, chairman of the Venango County Republican Committee.

“I am all in for Trump and totally excited about his candidacy.  I didn’t start out that way.  I started out thinking this was a joke, but when I started hearing his policy positions, I decided this guy’s for real. And, he is a manager.  People have observed that — I wouldn’t say that he’s not intelligent — but, he’s not refined in the way somebody might be who has an elite education and has lived in that kind of professional world.  He’s lived in the more real world not in the ivory tower and so he lacks some polish.  I sure like his positions.”

Martin said the Republican Committee has not held a formal endorsement vote, but may do so in the future even though he is sure it would pass.

“My sense is there’s a lot of support for Trump. We had a booth at the fair, and almost everyone who passed by was for Trump,” said Martin. “This is an area where we have experienced first hand the things that Trump is railing against. Joy Manufacturing announced they were shutting down, and they were a major employer.”

Martin has no doubt in his mind that Trump would be good for Pennsylvania.

“Absolutely,” said Martin.  “Especially these rust belt states that have been decimated from these trade deals sending jobs overseas.  I don’t know what we would do if we had a war.  We don’t manufacture anything anymore. He’s talking about bringing jobs back to the United States.  The kinds of jobs he’s talking about are not Wall Street; he’s talking about Main Street, talking about manufacturing. I believe he’s going to be absolutely great for Pennsylvania.”

State Representative R. Lee James is also fine with Trump’s candidacy.

“My focus is on getting Lee James reelected as State Representative for Venango County, District 64,” said James.  “As a sidebar, people ask questions about other candidates and, depending on the nature of the questions, sometimes I can fill them in. I have no objections or no problems with Donald Trump’s candidacy.  There is no circumstance in which I could cast a vote for Hillary Clinton. I’m fine with Donald Trump as president.  I think he has had a fairly interesting career.  Some will say he started for money, and that’s true, but he’s had a lot of successes along the way.  He has a great family, and he’s an outsider.  He hasn’t grown up in the culture of Washington, D.C., and I think most people will find that refreshing once he’s in there. Everyone complains about lifetime politicians, but this guy isn’t one.”

James thinks Trump would be good for the entire country and Pennsylvania.

“We’re called the Keystone State for good reason; a lot of commerce and traffic go through Pennsylvania,” said James.  “The relaxation of regulations that we really need in Pennsylvania would be refreshing, and that’s the sort of thing that I heard Donald Trump talk about.  You talk to any small business, and they say they’re buried under regulations.  From my experience in Harrisburg for four years, and every year we look at roughly 4,000 bills or resolutions — thank God we don’t pass all of them into law, but 10 percent of them get passed into law.  Two out of every three jobs are created by small business, and it seems like we’re trying to regulate them out of business. It makes no sense at all.  I think he’ll be good for PA, and I think he’ll be good for the country.”

State Senator Scott Hutchinson also added his support of Trump.

“I certainly support Mr. Trump as our nominee,” said Hutchinson. “I think the people have spoken.  Of the candidates remaining, he is certainly by far my preference philosophically, as well as operationally.  Like any nominee forever, there’s always things you disagree with, but in the end, he’s much closer to my beliefs and the direction I think the country should be going than anybody else who’s in the field at this point.”

Also asked if he thought a President Trump would be good for Pennsylvania, Hutchinson said he thinks Trump is good for America and that is his job.

“I think that some of the issues he talks about do overly impact Pennsylvania,” said James.  “When you talk about some of the trade issues that have been raised, Pennsylvania has historically been on the losing end in those trade deals. I think he will be much cognizant of America’s role in that respect. Indirectly, that says Pennsylvania will be treated a little better than then we have been in the past.”