Reschenthaler aims his quick political rise to Washington through new 14th Congressional District
Republicans in Southwestern Pennsylvania might be excused if they confuse Guy Reschenthaler for a college student home on break.
Dressed in crisp blue jeans, pristine new sneakers and a navy blue pullover, Reschenthaler, 35, of Peters Township, looked a full 10 years younger as he prepared to knock on doors in an upscale Washington County community ahead of the Nov. 6 election.
But the first-term state senator and would-be face of a new generation in Congress, should he win the race for Pennsylvania’s new 14 th Congressional District, has been around the ballot box a few times.
A dozen members of the Pennsylvania Young Republicans, who traveled to Washington County to knock on doors for Reschenthaler, said he is an easy sell.
“He connects with people. He’s friendly. He’s approachable,” said Dallas McClintock, 20, who came from the University of Pittsburgh to canvass for Reschenthaler.
The older of two sons of a school librarian and a chiropractor from Jefferson Hills, Reschenthaler enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Duquesne University law school in 2007. He prosecuted terrorists in Iraq as a Naval JAG lawyer — a line on his resume that he emphasizes in campaign ads, along with the message that “I’m from here. I share your values.”
As he walked down Bridle Trail on an October Saturday, knocking on doors in a Peters neighborhood where well-manicured lawns surrounded 3,500-square-foot homes, Reschenthaler ran into Michael Veydt, who was out walking his dog. Veydt recognized the barrel-chested candidate who has appeared on frequent 30-second TV spots.
“You were Navy. I was, too. You got my vote,” Veydt said. “You think we’re gonna keep the House?”
“Yes, I think we will, but it will be slim,” Reschenthaler said.
Republicans hold an edge over Democrats in the House by a margin of 235 to 193, with seven vacancies. All 435 House seats will be part of November’s mid-term election. Republicans or Democrats need to claim 218 seats to claim the majority.
The issues
Asked about voters’ concerns, Reschenthaler was quick to respond.
“People here are concerned about jobs and economic growth, not necessarily for themselves, but for their children and grandchildren, so they won’t have to move away,” Reschenthaler said.
He said the opioid epidemic —“almost everyone has a story about someone who’s died”— is probably the second most pressing concern, with national security a distant third. He touts support for a pro-Trump agenda and “more tax cuts,” but Reschenthaler stops short of endorsing all of the administration’s policies.
Although he vowed to vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Reschenthaler said he came to support calls for better access to mental health and substance abuse treatment during his year and half as a district judge. He said he always looked for the opportunity to direct those in his court to treatment rather than “a cot in a cell.”
Longtime friend John Pape met Reschenthaler when the two were freshmen at Penn State and carpooled back to Pittsburgh with him for three years. He said he’s not surprised that his friend isn’t always in lockstep with party leaders.
“His best friend is his grandfather. He’s very real. He’s going to do what’s right. When he says he’s going to reach across the aisle, he will,” Pape said.
Although Reschenthaler established a political pedigree in a few short years, the state senator, like his Democratic opponent, Bibiana Boerio, of Unity, began this campaign as an unknown entity in much of the new 14 th District.
His state senate district took in a tiny portion of Washington County. But elsewhere he’s had to introduce himself in the new district that includes Fayette, Washington, and Greene counties as well as about two thirds of Westmoreland County.
Reschenthaler pointed to his family’s Westmoreland roots, with his maternal grandfather, Gerry Potter, still living in Allegheny Township.
This year, he moved from Jefferson Hills, which is not in the new district, to Peters, which is. He said the move was planned before the state Supreme Court created the congressional district.
Reschenthaler said he has had his eye on Washington for some time.
“I always thought it would be later in life,” he said.
But then the court created the district, one without an incumbent to challenge for a Congressional seat.
The district is a bundle of contradictions. Although Democrats have a 36,600 edge in voter registration, they exhibit a conservative bent. The 14 th District as now configured is considered one of the reddest in Pennsylvania, a region where voters gave Donald Trump a 29 point margin of victory two years ago.
Campaign chops
Reschenthaler jumped into politics almost immediately when he returned to civilian life six years ago, winning election to the lower court bench in 2013.
In 2015, he won a special election to the state Senate. He won a full term in the legislature in 2016, snaring $1.7 million in campaign cash, including more than $1 million in backing from the Senate Republican leadership.
In fall 2017, he sought the party’s nod to run in a special Congressional election in the old 18 th District. The local GOP, however, chose state Rep. Rick Saccone, who lost a close race to Democrat Conor Lamb in March.
Reschenthaler ran against Saccone in the primary in the 14 th Congressional District two months later.
During that race, Reschenthaler came under fire after Media Matters reported that he had penned “an enthusiastic forward” for Battle on the Home Front: A Navy SEAL’s Mission to Save the American Dream , a 2012 book by Carl Higbie, that attacked minorities. Higbie, the former Navy Seal and conservative commentator, resigned from the Trump administration this year following questions about comments deemed racist and homophobic.
Reschenthaler, who once co-hosted Higbie’s radio program “Sound of Freedom,” disavowed the book and said he had not read it before writing the forward.
The issue did little to hamper Reschenthaler’s campaign.
He beat Saccone by 10 points and had bested Boerio in fund raising by a 2-to-1 margin as of Sept. 30.
