The midterm election was back in focus when a second candidate visited Lehighton during the 2022 Senate race.

U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick held a breakfast meet and greet Friday morning at the Boulevard Drive-In.

McCormick, seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. senator for Pennsylvania, addressed the record-high inflation, crime, and a spike in the trafficking of fentanyl across open borders.

A seventh-generation Pennsylvanian born outside Pittsburgh and raised in Bloomsburg, McCormick said he’s running for Senate “to stand up to the wokeness and weakness we’re seeing from (President) Joe Biden and the extreme left that’s impacting the commonwealth.”

“We’ve all watched the unraveling of Joe Biden and his failed policies over the last year, and the impact they’ve had on all Americans, but especially Pennsylvanian working families. The frustration many of you are feeling toward the failures of our current leadership in Washington is what motivated me to run.

“Whether it’s not being able to afford gas or groceries because of record-high inflation, rampant crime in our cities, a dramatic spike in the trafficking of fentanyl and human exploitation across open borders, or the disgraceful lack of accountability for the death of 13 young service members in Afghanistan - these problems were self-inflicted by Joe Biden and the extreme policies of the left.”

McCormick noted that as a veteran he fought for our country.

“I believe in its greatness,” he said. “Together, we can turn things around by restoring common sense and strong leadership.

“I served in the military because I love our country. I’m running for the U.S. Senate to serve again.”

A Gold Star family, Michael and Sarah Wargo of Mahoning Township, were in attendance and gave McCormick a Gold Star challenge coin.

Afterward, McCormick spoke to the family and thanked them for their sacrifice to our country.

“We were very impressed with what he had to say; he’s former military, he can relate to us,” Michael Wargo said. “When he walked in, he signaled us out; asking to hear about Michael’s story touched us pretty deep, we knew he was a good guy.”

The couple’s son, Spc. Michael C. Wargo, was a 1994 graduate of Lehighton Area High School. After 9/11, he joined the U.S. Army, where he spent 10 months in Afghanistan as a chemical weapons specialist. He suffered with post-traumatic stress disorder for eight years before taking his life on May 20, 2013.

“He seemed like a down-to-earth guy,” Michael Wargo said. “It was a very good meeting; we enjoyed it, enjoyed what he had to say, we’re glad we went.”

The venue was the first of several campaign stops for McCormick, who also planned stops at Valley Family Restaurant in Bethlehem, and the Nazareth Diner in Nazareth.

McCormick’s stop comes several weeks after Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is also seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator in Pennsylvania, held a town hall meeting.

The 90-minute town hall meeting conducted by Oz inside American Legion Post 314 in Lehighton turned into a televised campaign rally.

Other prominent candidates in the Republican field include Carla Sands, a former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark; Jeff Bartos, former Republican nominee for lieutenant governor; and Carla Barnette, an Army veteran and Republican commentator.

The May 17 primary election also features over a dozen Democratic hopefuls.