ASHLAND — A few of the people attending Matt Connolly’s town hall meeting Friday at the Mineshaft Cafe said the Republican congressional candidate reminded them of former Congressman and Schuylkill County resident Tim Holden, D-17. Connolly said that comparison is fine with him.
“If Tim Holden was still our congressman, I would not be running,” Connolly said Friday.
The real estate investor and former professional race car driver is seeking the Republican nomination to represent the 17th Congressional District, which includes all of Schuylkill County and parts of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe and Northampton counties.
“One of the things that happens when you are an incumbent is you have a record, and Matt Cartwright has a terrible record,” Connolly said.
Connolly, 50, of Bethlehem Township, Northampton County, announced his campaign in December at Pine View Acres, Pottsville. He ran for the nomination in 2014 against Schuylkill County Coroner Dr. David J. Moylan III and pilot Matthew Dietz, Wind Gap. Although Moylan won the party nomination thanks to a large margin in Schuylkill County, he lost in the General Election to Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, Moosic.
Connolly outpolled Moylan in the other five counties in the district.
“Schuylkill County is the heart and soul of this district, and I’m going to keep it that way,” he said.
Schuylkill County Register of Wills Theresa Santai-Gaffney, who managed Moylan’s 2014 campaign, endorsed Connolly on Friday.
“It’s a tough job, but if anyone can do it, right here is our guy,” Santai-Gaffney said. “If we don’t get Matt in, Schuylkill County will be forgotten as we have in the past few years.”
Connolly also had Scott Uehlinger, a former CIA operative specializing in the Middle East, speak at the town hall meeting.
“Homeland security is really growing on people’s minds and Belgium attack was really a wake up call,” Connolly said.
Uehlinger, Topton, is running for Republican delegate in the 15th Congressional District. He said he will support the candidate who wins the district.
“I’m not a politician,” he said. “I’m just a CIA/Navy guy, but I am going to do right by the people in my district because I can’t be bought because I’m not part of the political machine.”
Uehlinger said political correctness is hurting national security and the foreign policy of the current administration is a continuous failure. That is why people like Connolly are needed, he said.
“I was taken by his willingness to speak straight about what we believe in and someone like Matt is the kind of person we need to get rid of the terrible situation we have now,” he said.