In DNC speech, Pa. Senate candidate Katie McGinty to call for lifting the middle class

U.S. Senate candidate Katie McGinty will say average working people are getting "a raw deal" in today's economy when she speaks to the Democratic National Convention Thursday, and she'll urge the country to come together with a sense of unity to rebuild the middle class.

The speech, scheduled for around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, touches on many themes and stories she has long emphasized, according to prepared remarks reviewed by the Inquirer, but for McGinty it will represent an important chance to introduce herself to a wide audience as she runs in one of the most critical senate contests in the country.

McGinty, hoping to unseat Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) in a race that could help decide control of the chamber, remains relatively unknown to many Pennsylvania voters, and has been bombarded by months of attack ads attempting to stain her image before she can get out of the starting gate. Another new GOP ad is slated to run right around the time she speaks Thursday -- chastising her for calling Toomey "an a--hole" earlier this week.

But McGinty will have a chance to tell her own story as Democrats try to boost not only Hillary Clinton, but also key senate candidates. She plans to cast the current economic climate in personal terms, saying that even as the ninth of 10 children from a blue collar Philadelphia family, she had opportunity growing up.

"If you wanted to succeed, you just had to give it your all, and give back. For my brothers, and sisters and me, that was the deal," her prepared remarks read. But she plans to say that years of economic change has benefitted the elite, leaving ordinary people behind. "The deal for families today is a raw deal."

McGinty plans to blame Donald Trump and Toomey for trying to exploit the resulting anxiety, but will argue that the country should instead rally around ideas such as job training and lowering college costs.

"Let's lift people up," she expects to say. "Let's put them to work. Let's rebuild -- together."

The GOP will also continue to paint its own picture of McGinty. Around the same time she speaks, Republicans' national senate campaign arm has bought TV time for an ad showing the Democrat calling Toomey "an a--hole, damn it" at a Monday press conference.

The spot closely mimics a prominent ad Hillary Clinton is running criticizing Trump for his own offensive comments. "Our children are watching," the ad reads, using the exact same words as the Clinton spot, "what example will we set for them?"

McGinty apologized for her language on the same day she made the comments, and Toomey accepted.

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