How Trump’s legal woes are giving Democrats running for DA a unique platform to seek support

Volunteers who work for Pennsylvania Democrats seeking public office want to talk about Donald Trump’s many legal woes. Turn PA Blue, a political action committee that recruits volunteers, delivered Monday in a virtual townhall with a pair of former federal prosecutors.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, now seeking a second term, and Chris de Barrena-Sarobe, the Democratic nominee for district attorney in Chester County, spent an hour explaining to 70 people Trump’s indictment last month for allegedly withholding classified documents and speculating about a potential new indictment for his attempts to remain in office after he lost the 2020 election.

Along the way, there were pitches to contribute to their campaigns and to Turn PA Blue. Unusual times call for unusual methods. The historic indictment of a former president certainly qualifies. After all, Trump has been in a fundraising frenzy, using his legal mess to pull in dollars.

Stollsteimer told the crowd he speaks to “very astute” Republicans with a read on Trump’s politics who think “the best thing that can happen for the Republican Party is that he gets convicted as early as possible and that they can then be done with him.”

De Barrena-Sarobe called out Republicans who claim to support law enforcement but attack agencies investigating Trump.

“It makes no sense, and we can’t let them coopt this idea any more that they are the law-and-order party,” he said. “They are not for any amount of order. We saw that on Jan. 6. And they want to ignore the law and manipulate it to their advantage.

Jamie Perrapato, who cofounded Turn PA Blue in 2017, said the group’s discussions keep volunteers engaged. A previous discussion covered Trump’s indictment in New York for paying hush money during his 2016 campaign to conceal an affair.

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