Bucks senator calls PAC's campaign flier in 16th 'antisemitic'
By Charles Malinchak and Katherine Reinhard
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, who represents the 10th District in Bucks County, has accused a political action committee of sending out an antisemitic campaign mailer that targeted his support for Bradley Merkl-Gump in the Democratic primary race in the 16th Senate District.
The flier was mailed last week by Protecting Our Democracy and showed an image of the Israeli flag with Santarsiero and Merkl-Gump’s faces. It said Santarsiero is someone who “puts Israel before Pennsylvania taxpayers” and that he would be Merkl-Gump’s “party boss.” It further said, “Say NO to John Fetterman Lite.”
In 2024, Santarsiero was the prime sponsor of a bill that prohibited the state treasurer and state-related retirement systems from boycotting or divesting from Israel; and prohibiting funding to an institution of higher education that engages in a boycott against or divestment from Israel. It had wide bipartisan support, passing 41-7. It never made it out of a House committee.
In a statement, Santarsiero said, “the mailings have perpetuated a well-known antisemitic trope, accusing me – a convert to Judaism – of being an ‘Israel First” party boss, due to my support of the right of the Jewish People to have a homeland (for the record, I do not support either Benjamin Netanyahu or his right-wing government and do support the creation of a Palestinian state). The use of the term Israel First is antisemitic because it buys into the lie that Jews cannot be trusted to be loyal Americans, since their first loyalty is allegedly to Israel.”
In 16th, Merkl-Gump gets $195,000 boost from state Senate Democrats
Merkl-Gump of Perkasie is running against Mark Pinsley in Tuesday’s Democratic primary race. He is a teacher in the Perkiomen School District and member of the Pennridge School Board. Pinsley of South Whitehall Township is the twice-elected Lehigh County controller. This is his third time running for the 16th seat.
Incumbent Republican Jarrett Coleman is unopposed on the GOP ballot. The 16th extends from northern Lehigh County and along its western edge to upper Bucks County.
In the 16th, new PAC targets Merkl-Gump with mailer calling him a ‘party boss puppet’
Protecting Our Democracy registered with the state as a PAC on April 15. It is chaired by Joseph Calla, owner of Capital Vending Co. in Harrisburg, which supplies coin-operated amusement devices used in skill games. Douglas Rickards of Harrisburg is listed as the treasurer for Protecting Our Democracy and the Operators for Skill PAC. Calla and Rickards could not be reached for comment.
Operators for Skill gave Coleman $120,000 last year and $305,000 this year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State. Coleman is opposed to taxing skill games, saying in a July op-ed that such a levy would financially hurt social clubs that serve veterans.
Unaffiliated PACs are not legally permitted to coordinate with candidates.
In four fliers, Protecting Our Democracy has urged voters not to vote for Merkl-Gump because he would be under the control of party bosses. One mailed this week shows an image of Pinsley and urges voters to support him as “The Real Choice for Democrats.”
Santarsiero has endorsed Merkl-Gump, providing his campaign with $20,000. He is among seven state senators who have given him money while the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee gave Friends of Bradley Merkl-Gump $100,000 in cash and $24,928 worth of in-kind donations as of May 4 for media buys, campaign flings with the Pennsylvania Department of State show.
In 16th, two Democrats want chance to face Coleman in November
The Democratic committees in Bucks and Lehigh decided not to endorse anyone in a race after a straw poll in February on whether it would be best to have one Democrat on the primary ballot faced opposition.
Santarsiero called on Pinsley and Coleman to denounce the flier and said they have yet to do so. Coleman could not be reached for comment by Armchair Lehigh Valley.
Pinsley said he denounced the flier at a forum and on social media, but doesn’t agree with Santarsiero’s assessment of its intent. “As a Jewish American, I have not seen anything in this mailer that I would personally label antisemitic,” he said in an email.
“We should be able to have discussions about policy and human rights without assuming hatred while also being clear that actual antisemitism is real and unacceptable. Antisemitism is real, dangerous and growing, but we cannot label every criticism of the United States policy, Israeli government policy or legislation related to college campus speech as antisemitic.”
Pinsley also said he did not ask for the mailer supporting his campaign. “Republican-aligned groups should stay the hell out of Democratic primaries,’’ he said.
Brendan Welch, a Merkl-Gump spokesperson, said he agrees with Santarsiero that the mailer is antisemitic, calling it harmful.
In his statement, Santarsiero noted that the mailer with the Israeli flag arrived the same week that a Lebanon County man was arrested for allegedly posting a “hit list” threatening 20 Democratic state House and Senate members with a reference to a “Memorial Day Operation.”
“As Democrats, I believe we must do all we can to reject the normalization of violence, antisemitism and racism in our politics. I hope you will join me in that work, no matter what candidate you support. We can yet turn the corner toward a better day,” his statement said.