Jill Biden meets with small business leaders at Rizzo’s Malabar Inn in Crabtree

During a campaign stop Wednesday in Crabtree, Jill Biden told a small group of local Democrats and business leaders that areas such as Westmoreland County are an important part of her husband’s quest to win the presidency.

As she and former Vice President Joe Biden traveled by train from Cleveland to Johnstown with stops in Pittsburgh, Greensburg, New Alexandria and Latrobe, Jill Biden detoured to Rizzo’s Malabar Inn to meet with business leaders and talk about struggles caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’re here in Western Pennsylvania because we are not taking any vote for granted,” she said. “I’ve especially been going to all small towns talking to people, and like everyone who was here today, these small business owners feel forgotten.”

The county, once a Democratic stronghold, has turned Republican over the last two decades. President Trump carried the county by more than 30 percentage points on his way to the White House in 2016. Over the last two months, he has looked to secure his local support through a rally near Latrobe in September and an August campaign appearance in Greensburg by Vice President Mike Pence.

Local Democratic leaders told Jill Biden that despite the party’s recent struggles, they expect to help her husband put Pennsylvania in the win column.

“It’s an uphill battle in this county, but we are going to work really hard for the Bidens to hold our ground,” said Prothonotary Christina O’Brien, one of four Democrats elected to countywide offices.

For decades, Democrats were the dominant political party locally but in the last two years were overtaken by Republicans. According to the county elections bureau, Democrats now account for 41% of the county’s 248,000 registered voters. Republicans make up nearly 47% of county voters.

Democratic Party Chairwoman Tara Yokopenic said enthusiasm this political season has been uniquely high for the Biden campaign and said local volunteers topped all state committees in making campaign calls for the former vice president.

“I really want to be clear about how much enthusiasm we feel here,” Yokopenic said.

Ian Petrulli, owner of Holiday Travel International in North Huntingdon, told Biden about just how difficult it’s been to keep the doors open during the pandemic.

Biden said her husband’s campaign is focused on helping struggling small business survive the pandemic.

“That’s why we are on this train stop — for forgotten Americans — and that’s the whole theme: Americans Joe Biden will remember,” Jill Biden said.

“I’ve heard all over this country, I don’t care whether if it’s Maine, I’ve been in Wisconsin, I’ve been in Michigan, and I’ve seen so many Americans who say they just feel unheard and forgotten,” she said. “And their businesses, whether they are farmers or small businesses like yours, there’s people who need jobs. And we have to get rid of the pandemic and build back better.”

Biden also commented on Tuesday’s debate. She said it was difficult to watch Trump attack her husband and her family.

“The American people will vote, and they will decide, and they’ll will hear about what Donald Trump had to say,” she said. “And on Nov. 3, they will vote, and they will make my husband president.”