Dee Adcock knows he faces a formidable opponent in Allyson Schwartz. As the Democrat incumbent in a district that has been blue for the past decade, and includes a largely urbanized area, Schwartz, whom Adcock lambastes as the “Nancy Pelosi of the East,” is favored to win re-election.
Still, Adcock is campaigning furiously across the 13th district to get his message out among likely voters whom he sees as potential converts to the cause of limited government and fiscal responsibility. Adcock looks every bit the part of successful businessman, which he is, and with his understated but powerful demeanor, stands an outside chance at becoming what he describes as the “miracle in Montgomery County.”
At a recent appearance in Northeast Philadelphia, Battle ‘10 caught up with Adcock as he was winding down from another day on the trail.
On Schartz, Adcock was gracious. “We’re cordial with each other,” he told Battle ‘10. “It’s not her, it’s her policies that I stand firmly against. So we’re excited. We believe this will be the miracle in Montgomery county, [in] northeast Philadelphia.”
“This will be the surprise race for the country, because no one’s looking at it, even at this very moment,” said Adcock.
In Pennsylvania, a state home to some 1.3 million more Democrats than Republicans — with Philadelphia and its surrounding areas form the core of that base — an Adcock victory would, indeed, be a surprise. The Cook Partisan Voting Index rates the district D +7.
Adcock, for his part, remains bullish on his chances. Schwartz’s record, he says, speaks for itself.
“She’s not doing her job,” Adcock told Battle ‘10. “She’s on the ways and means committee, but we don’t know what our taxes are for next year. She’s on the budget committee, but [they] haven’t passed a budget.”
Adcock asked Schwartz earlier this month what the deficit would be next year, given the lack of a budget. “And she at least let me know,” said Adcock, ‘Oh, look for another $1.3 trillion.’”
Adcock’s calculus is straightforward: “If you’re not getting the job done, you need to be fired,” he says.
“So long as the government is spending so much money, the private sector won’t,” said Adcock, explaining, “the top priority is getting the economy going, and businesses, through controlling the spending, controlling taxation, and balancing the budget.”
“We are planning to flip the district,” Adcock declared. “I’m a competitor.”