Katie McGinty in 2016 PA Senate race
On Abortion:
Supports public funding for Planned Parenthood
Q: On Healthcare: Should Planned Parenthood be eligible to receive public funds for non-abortion health services?McGinty: Yes
Toomey: No
Q: On Abortion: Should abortion be highly restricted?
McGinty: No
Toomey: Yes
Q: On Contraception: Should employers be able to withhold contraceptive coverage from employees if they disagree with it morally?
McGinty: No
Toomey: Yes. Viewed Supreme Court decision to allow this as "great news."
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Foreign Policy:
Supports Iran nuclear deal
Q: On Iran: Support the US-Iran treaty that limits Iran's nuclear capability in return for lifting economic sanctions?
McGinty: Yes
Toomey: No
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Government Reform:
Constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United
Q: On Campaign Finance: Do you support the DISCLOSE Act, which requires key funders of political ads to put their names on those ads?McGinty: Yes
Toomey: No
Q: On Campaign Finance: Support Supreme Court's
Citizens United decision, which allows unlimited independent political expenditures by corporations and unions?
McGinty: No. Supports constitutional amendment to overturn.
Toomey: Yes
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Immigration:
Support DREAM Act plus earned path to citizenship
Q: On Immigration: Support the DREAM Act, which would allow children brought into the country illegally to achieve legal status if they meet certain conditions? (Need to have graduated from high school, have a clean legal record, and attend college or
serve in the military.)McGinty: Yes
Toomey: Opposed Obama's Executive Order giving legal status.
Q: On Immigration: Should America's 11 million undocumented residents have an earned path to citizenship?
McGinty: Yes
Toomey: No
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On War & Peace:
No ground troops against ISIS
Q: On Iraq: Should the US recommit significant additional ground troops to Iraq to combat the success of ISIS?
McGinty: No. Prefers a focus on other options that could prevent the need for ground troops.
Toomey: No. Supports air strikes and arming local forces.
Source: CampusElect Voter Guide to 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Oct 9, 2016
On Government Reform:
Stand against partisan attempts to disenfranchise voters
Q: In Shelby County v. Holder, the US Supreme Court invalidated provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which has led to disenfranchised voters across the US. If elected, what will you do to ensure that the voting rights of all Americans are protected?
KATIE MCGINTY: Voting is a fundamental right for Americans across this country. We must fully restore the Voting Rights Act to protect that right for thousands of Americans who are being disenfranchised. But we must also do more.
As Senator, I will stand against partisan attempts to disenfranchise voters through new voter identification laws because we should be encouraging more people to vote, not systematically denying them that right.
I also support reforms that increase accessibility and integrity in our elections like guaranteeing early voting and expanding options for voter registration.
Source: LWV's Vote411.org on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate Race
Sep 19, 2016
On Corporations:
Support Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against banks
McGinty took issue with Toomey's efforts in Congress to change the oversight of the 5-year-old Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal office created to protect consumers in financial dealings with banks. The agency is in the news after it
levied its highest-ever fine on Wells Fargo bank last week. The bank said it will pay a $100 million fine over allegations its employees illegally opened millions of unauthorized accounts for their customers in order to meet aggressive sales goals.
"We're here to call on Pat Toomey to change his tune and for once stand with consumers instead of just with the big banks," McGinty said. "This is yet another instance where his loyalties remain with his colleagues and partners and employers in the
big banks instead of his own constituents."
Asked about the bureau, Toomey said fraud can be prosecuted without inventing the agency, and he criticized its leadership structure as unusually unaccountable for such a powerful federal agency.
Source: The Morning Call on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate debate
Sep 12, 2016
On Energy & Oil:
Corn ethanol as renewable fuel can replace some fossil fuels
Toomey says the use of corn ethanol is an economic harm to Pennsylvania, provides no environmental benefit and is "another example of how Katie McGinty loves to pick these corporate welfare programs that enrich a handful of huge agribusiness companies
at the cost of average families and consumers and workers," Toomey told reporters.McGinty, a long-time clean-energy advocate who served as a top environmental policy adviser to former Gov. Ed Rendell and former
President Bill Clinton, supports the use of corn ethanol as a renewable fuel that can replace the need for some fossil fuels, according to her campaign.
A 2007 federal law requires companies to blend billions of gallons of ethanol into their gasoline.
But it has come under scrutiny as to whether it reduces pollution and the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to produce a report on the impacts of biofuels by December 2017.
Source: The Morning Call on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate debate
Sep 12, 2016
On Civil Rights:
It is past time to close the pay gap
As a working mom of three teenage girls, I know how important it is to give women the tools they need to get ahead. It is past time to close the pay gap. In Pennsylvania, women still make 79 cents for every dollar made by a man in a similar job, and
struggle to climb the ladder if they take time off to raise a family. As Senator, I will work to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and fight for paid family leave because no one should have to choose between taking care of a loved one and keeping their job.
Source: 2016 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website KatieMcGinty.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Homeland Security:
Guarantee world's best-equipped & best-trained military
These are challenging times, and nothing is more important to me than keeping our families safe and secure. Fighting terrorism both at home and abroad is a growing challenge but we can defeat terrorist threats while upholding
America's values and principles.Our men and women in our military deserve the very best and as Senator,
I will work to guarantee that our military remains the best-equipped and best-trained military in the world to meet the changing threats of the 21st century.
In order to respond to the threats we face, we need the strength and support of our allies.
Israel is a critical partner for our national security and as a Senator, I will do all that I can to ensure Israel's security, as any threat to Israel poses a threat to our nation's interests as well.
Source: 2016 Pennsylvania Senate campaign website KatieMcGinty.com
Aug 31, 2016
On Foreign Policy:
Defeat terrorist threats while upholding America's values
In order to respond to the threats we face, we need the strength and support of our allies. Israel is a critical partner for our national security and as a Senator, I will do all that I can to ensure Israel's security, as any threat to
Israel poses a threat to our nation's interests as well.Our men and women in our military deserve the very best and as Senator, I will work to guarantee that our military remains the best-equipped and best-trained military in the world
to meet the changing threats of the 21st century.
These are challenging times, and nothing is more important to me than keeping our families safe and secure.
Fighting terrorism both at home and abroad is a growing challenge but we can defeat terrorist threats while upholding America's values and principles. [Source: katiemcginty.com/issues ]
Source: Vote-PA.org profile for 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Aug 9, 2016
On Immigration:
Communicate with federal officials instead of sanctuary city
With a U.S. Senate vote looming to strip Philadelphia and other municipalities of millions in federal grant funding, Democrat Katie McGinty has called on Mayor Kenney to alter his "sanctuary city" policy. Philadelphia, which is receiving nearly $39
million in Community Development Block Grants this year, could see that funding put at risk due to legislation being pushed by Sen. Pat Toomey to punish sanctuary cities.McGinty called for increased communications between local police and federal
law enforcement agencies. Pressed for an opinion on Kenney's policy, McGinty said she was not "rejecting" it but wanted the city to share information with federal officials on pending releases of inmates. "I have asked for reconsideration of this aspect
of the policy," McGinty told reporters. "I think we are all safer and better off when law enforcement is in constant contact about individuals that they have concerns about."
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Jul 7, 2016
On Drugs:
Medical marijuana yes; but legalization no
Incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey (R), while serving in the U.S. House, voted against a 2003 floor amendment to protect state medical marijuana laws from federal interference. But last June, he cheered an Obama administration move to remove a roadblock in
the way of more medical cannabis research.Democratic challenger Katie McGinty is a former chief of staff to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D), who recently signed a medical marijuana bill into law.
For her own part, McGinty "supports legalizing medical marijuana and supports decriminalization," a spokesperson said this year. But in 2013, in response to a voter's question, she said, "I am not for legalization of marijuana."
In the same appearance, however, McGlinty also said she opposed even medical cannabis, so it's possible that her position on full legalization will similarly evolve.
Source: Marijuana.com on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Jun 13, 2016
On Energy & Oil:
No fracking COMPANY donations; but some from fracking execs
The fight on fracking resurrected a clash from early in the race, when McGinty said she had received no campaign contributions from the oil or gas industries. She has taken some donations from executives either at oil & gas companies or in closely relate
businesses, such as pipelines--but she has said no money has come directly from oil or gas firms or their political arms. "I do not have a penny from an oil company, a gas company," she said, while noting several endorsements from environmental advocates
McGinty has worked in key environmental protection jobs throughout her career, as well as privately in the energy industry."Stop splitting hairs," Fetterman fired back, saying her oil and gas donations run into the six figures--citing a broad range of
contributions from law firms, lobbyists, and many others, some with only loose ties to oil and gas. One donation he cites is from a lawyer who opposes fracking. McGinty argued that Fetterman, by his broad standard, has accepted similar donations.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate debate
Apr 6, 2016
On Jobs:
Backs $15-an-hour minimum wage
McGinty and [Braddock Mayor John] Fetterman both back a $15-an-hour minimum.Fetterman noted that McGinty pushed for just a $9 minimum while running for governor in 2014. "The cynic in me would suggest that
[$15] probably polls better in 2016 than it did in 2014," he said.
McGinty said numerous groups pushing for the $15 minimum wage have endorsed her (most prominently a bevy of labor unions).
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate debate
Apr 6, 2016
On Social Security:
Cuts to Social Security are wrong for working families
Katie McGinty accused Joe Sestak of supporting cuts to Social Security and Medicare, citing Sestak's praise for the 2010 Simpson-Bowles plan's broad deficit-reduction blueprint, an outline that includes cuts to Social Security, to go after him on that
issue. "My parents retired on Social Security, we couldn't have made it without it--that's the wrong choice and wrong for working families," she said.
Her campaign noted that in a January speech Sestak cited the plan as a template for raising revenues and addressing "the proper reform of entitlements."Sestak did not let that stand. "Katie, you're wrong," noting that he voted 41 times as a
congressman to protect Social Security and Medicare.
Republicans pointed out that McGinty's campaign chairman, former Gov. Ed Rendell, has often praised the courage of lawmakers who have embraced the deficit reduction plan she is now criticizing.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate debate
Apr 6, 2016
On Gun Control:
Scored 100% on CeaseFire Pennsylvania survey
Katie McGinty and Allyson Schwartz scored the highest ratings in candidate ratings released Monday by gun-control advocacy group CeaseFire Pennsylvania, while Tom Wolf came in last. The group rated the candidates on their support for policies including:
- Expanding state background checks to cover the private sale of long guns
- Requiring background checks for ammunition sales
- Requiring firearms dealers to tell the police when a customer fails a background check
McGinty & Schwartz scored
100% by agreeing with every CeaseFire Pennsylvania stance. Wolf lost points for some answers, scoring 79% (supporting 15 of 19.)"By unequivocally supporting every proposal, Katie McGinty and Allyson Schwartz demonstrated broader support for a
comprehensive attack on gun violence," the group states in its voters' guide. "Wolf raised questions or hesitated to give full support for a few important policy proposals, but each still demonstrated strong support for measures to prevent gun violence."
Source: Post-Gazette on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Aug 7, 2015
On Abortion:
Endorsed by EMILY's List
McGinty gained a quick official endorsement from Washington, D.C.,-based EMILY's List, an organization that backs female Democratic candidates who support abortion rights. The EMILY's List endorsement comes after the group put Republican incumbent
Sen. Pat Toomey "on notice" this week that he's their top Senate target in 2016. "The Senate could use a woman like Katie, who has proven her commitment to creating middle-class jobs and preserving the environment," said EMILY's List president.
Source: The Morning Call on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Aug 6, 2015
On Jobs:
Endorsed by United Steelworkers
The United Steelworkers (USW) today announced their support of Katie McGinty in her bid to win a seat in the US Senate by replacing Republican incumbent Pat Toomey. "Though the USW doesn't usually endorse candidates in primaries, we are making a rare
exception for Katie McGinty, who we feel will make a terrific US Senator," said the USW District 10 (PA) Director. "Pat Toomey is out of touch with the hard working citizens of this Commonwealth, and we see McGinty as a fresh voice for workers capable of
cutting through the D.C. gridlock." The local USW promises a full-scale campaign operation in support of McGinty, one that will highlight both Toomey's extremist views and McGinty's common sense approach to issues most important to working families in
Pennsylvania.Said the USW International President, "She has been a tireless advocate for workers' rights and protections. Pennsylvania needs an honest, hard-working senator with high ethics and principled positions to represent us in Washington."
Source: USW.org press release on 2016 Pennsylvania Senate race
Aug 5, 2015
Page last updated: Jul 19, 2019