{"id":753700,"date":"2021-09-15T02:50:36","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T06:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=753700"},"modified":"2021-09-15T08:28:32","modified_gmt":"2021-09-15T12:28:32","slug":"former-us-attorney-bill-mcswain-declares-bid-for-governor-of-pennsylvania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-us-attorney-bill-mcswain-declares-bid-for-governor-of-pennsylvania\/","title":{"rendered":"Former US Attorney Bill McSwain Declares Bid for Governor of Pennsylvania"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-us-attorney-bill-mcswain-declares-bid-for-governor-of-pennsylvania%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=753700&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain announced his candidacy for governor of Pennsylvania at a press conference on the\u00a0steps of Chester County Courthouse on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Several dozen supporters joined the event along with his wife Stephanie and their four children. McSwain becomes the 8th Republican candidate who has declared to run for Pennsylvania governor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am a fighter, a fighter for conservative values that lift people up and enable our communities to thrive,\u201d McSwain told the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs governor, I promise to protect you from any threats in the federal government, including any attempts to impose socialism or to limit our freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>McSwain is a former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, appointed by then-President Donald Trump. He was responsible for the public safety of the nearly 6 million residents of the district.<\/p>\n<p>McSwain, also a former officer with the U.S. Marines,\u00a0 describes himself as a tough-on-crime candidate who will do whatever is necessary to ensure a safer, freer, and more prosperous Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI oppose Philadelphia\u2019s dangerous sanctuary city policies. I put rioters, looters, and arsonists in jail who tried to destroy Philadelphia last summer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who torched police cars and threw Molotov cocktails in front of City Hall are not heroes; they are criminals to be prosecuted,\u201d he said. \u201cI put violent criminals and corrupt public officials in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the speakers, Terri O\u2019Connor, shared how McSwain came to her aid after her husband, Philadelphia police officer Cpl. James O\u2019Connor was shot and killed in the line of duty.<\/p>\n<p>On March 13 of 2020, Cpl. O\u2019Connor, who was with a SWAT unit, was shot and killed as he entered a property while serving a murder warrant. Nine guns and a large quantity of drugs were later found on the property.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3997028\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium_vertical wp-image-3997028\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSC08255-Terri-525x350-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"525\" height=\"350\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/09\/14\/DSC08255-Terri-1200x800.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Terri O\u2019Connor shared how Bill McSwain came to her aid after her husband, Philadelphia police officer Cpl. James O\u2019Connor, was shot and killed in the line of duty on March 13, 2020. (Lily Sun\/The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<p>Terri O\u2019Connor told The Epoch Times that McSwain took her husband\u2019s case out of the Philadelphia district attorney\u2019s office and pursued the death penalty against the murderers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo they [the killers] are not going anywhere now. There are no chances for any back door deals, anything behind the scenes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She was thankful for McSwain\u2019s efforts which means her husband\u2019s killer will never be allowed back on the streets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you do something criminal, you should be locked up and stay in jail. My husband\u2019s murderers should have never been out of jail. They had multiple cases and they were let go and let out. And my husband\u2019s not here now because of that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>McSwain stressed that he supports the police and upholds the rule of law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will never cut police funding. We will stand up for the law-abiding people in the community. And when it comes to public safety, our priority will be protecting the people, not coddling the criminals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3997089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/09\/14\/DSC08340-Bill-10-C-small-1200x791.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"791\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium_vertical wp-image-3997089\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/DSC08340-Bill-10-C-small-531x350-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"531\" height=\"350\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bill McSwain beside the Ten Commandments plaque hanging on the Chester County Courthouse. He mentioned during his speech that he served as lead counsel in the Chester County, PA \u201cTen Commandments\u201d case, in which he defeated several atheist groups who wanted to remove the plaque from the courthouse\u2019s fa\u00e7ade in 2003. (Lily Sun\/The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<p>McSwain also recognized police officer Bill Cahill who stood in the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s actually a hero in our midst,\u201d he said while pointing at Cahill who works for the Coatesville Police Department. About a week ago, Cahill was stabbed multiple times by a suspect during a police investigation.<\/p>\n<p>As governor, McSwain said his priorities would be strengthening the economy, reducing crime, promoting school choice and pro-family policies, and keeping elections secure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will make it easy to vote but hard to cheat,\u201d McSwain said. \u201cNow, I know that election fraud exists because I actually prosecuted it and convicted ballot-stuffing election officials in Philadelphia while I was U.S. attorney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The former federal prosecutor added that he would put parents before teachers\u2019 unions.<\/p>\n<p>McSwain has reportedly asked President Trump for his endorsement, but it\u2019s unclear if or when he\u2019ll get it for the 2022 election.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic Governor Tom Wolf was re-elected in 2018 and is not allowed to run for reelection in 2022 due to term limits.<\/p>\n<p>In a public statement, issued the same day McSwain announced his run, Wolf accused Pennsylvania Republicans of spreading election conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were no irregularities, no conspiracies, and no fraud that occurred,\u201d\u00a0Wolf said.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to McSwain, seven more Republicans have put their hand up for the Republican primary\u2019s nomination: former congressman Lou Barletta, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, former Corry Mayor Jason Monn, vice chairman of the American Conservative Union Charlie Gerow, Pittsburgh attorney Jason Richey, retired UPS security and public affairs executive John Ventre, and cardiothoracic surgeon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/hearts-and-minds-renowned-surgeon-helps-children-reach-their-full-potential_3912989.html\">Nche Zama<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To date, nobody from the Democratic Party has announced they will run for governor but State Attorney General Josh Shapiro has expressed an interest in running for the position.<\/p>\n<p><em>May Lin contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/default-user.png\" alt=\"Lily Sun\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain announced his candidacy for governor of Pennsylvania at a press conference on the\u00a0steps of Chester County Courthouse on Monday. Several dozen supporters joined the event &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-753700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}