Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick on Friday afternoon made a campaign stop outside Maxs Steaks in North Philadelphia, the latest in a series of GOP events aimed at reaching out to Black voters in Philly this year.
But McCormicks campaign apparently didnt do enough outreach to Maxs.
Mike Sfida, manager at Maxs, said he was told the event was for autism awareness and was surprised to see campaign signs for McCormick and former President Donald Trump being hung up outside the restaurant. Sfida said he welcomed the event because his niece and nephew have autism, "not a political campaign."
"We didnt sign up for that at all. Zero," Sfida said as the McCormick team was wrapping up the event. "I could throw them all out of here, but Im going to be nice. Do your thing. When youre done, leave. Youre not welcome back."
Earlier, McCormick, who is running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, spoke briefly to a crowd of several dozen people on the sidewalk outside Maxs before handing out cheesesteaks. His campaign bus was parked on Erie Avenue, attracting passersby who were curious about the commotion or who had heard someone was giving out free sandwiches.
"I am running to represent all Pennsylvanians Democrats, Republicans, independents, Black and white, Jewish, Christian, Muslim," McCormick told the crowd. "Im running to bring leadership to our commonwealth."
Later, supporters posted enthusiastic videos highlighting the Republicans swing through North Philly.
The confusion over the purpose of the event stemmed from the fact that it was organized in part by Sheila Armstrong, a Philadelphia activist of various causes who has run for City Council as a Democrat but is now a Republican. Sfida said Armstrong reached out to him to schedule the event on behalf of her nonprofit organization, Cooking4Autism, and not on behalf of McCormicks campaign.
"What I organized this for is because we always hear the politicians saying that they support the Black community, but we never see them. So I always push them and challenge them to come into my Black community," she said. "Dave McCormick took that challenge."
Asked if there was an autism awareness aspect of the event, Armstrong said, "Yes, its always autism awareness because Im an education advocate," adding that she addressed the crowd about autism at one point.
However, there was little visible indication the event had anything to do with autism awareness. While there were Republican campaign signs and McCormick campaign pamphlets on a table, there were no resources about autism.
The campaign described the event to reporters as a "meet & greet with members of the African American community."
"We were so heartened by the warm welcome of dozens of Philadelphians for delicious cheesesteaks from Maxs," McCormick campaign spokesperson Elizabeth Gregory said in a statement Friday. "We will continue to work hard to earn the votes of Pennsylvanians all over the commonwealth. We certainly apologize for any confusion."
After posing for pictures with guests outside Maxs including with Sfida McCormick walked across the street to East Bethel Baptist Church, which was holding a fundraiser for its food ministry outside the church.
But the impromptu stop didnt go smoothly, either. The Rev. Thomas Edwards Jr. said he asked McCormick and his entourage to leave because he didnt want photos of his churchs members to be used by the campaign.
"You can Photoshop. You can make things seem like they arent. Maybe theyre going to post were eating dogs or eating cats, like in Ohio," Edwards said, referring to Trumps false claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. "Forgive me if Im wrong. I dont trust these people."
Edwards said that he doesnt tell members of his congregation who to vote for, but that he personally has problems with Republicans, especially during the Trump era.