Backed By ‘Bitter Clingers,’ Teddy Daniels Surges in Northeastern Pennsylvania

Last Updated on May 30, 2020

“Northeastern PA wants a fighter – not a swamper,” says congressional candidate Teddy Daniels in a new, mega viral ad released ahead of Tuesday’s Republican Primary. Daniels, an ex-cop, US Army combat veteran, and business owner, is running to be the Republican nominee to Congress in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. 

Endorsed by groups like Tea Party Nation, Freedom Works, and North East Pennsylvania Women for Trump, Teddy Daniels is surging going into Tuesday’s primary election, and the political outsider embodies the profile of a hard-nosed America-First conservative.

Here is my new radio ad. I'm Teddy Daniels and I'm asking for your vote this Tuesday. I will stand with President Trump and fight for the hard-working people of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Please text, call, email, and message all of your family and friends. Thank you 🙏#PA08 pic.twitter.com/Bty5DyWhQl

— Teddy Daniels (@TeddyDanielsTV) May 29, 2020

Growing up, Daniels’ father worked in the trades as a brick and stone mason, while his mother worked in a textile factory. Crediting his successes to his blue collar roots, Daniels grew to become a star athlete, receiving all-state accolades as a high school football player, while also running track, playing baseball, and pushing his body to the limit as a champion power lifter. He later attended West Virginia University on a full athletic scholarship, where he played as a starting offensive lineman on the nationally ranked Mountaineers football team. 

After graduating college, Daniels pursued a career in law enforcement, where he served a total of 15 years, receiving “Officer of the Year” honors in 2002. He went on to enlist in the United States Army, where he became a highly decorated soldier, earning a Purple Heart in a 2012 firefight with the Taliban, shot four times by enemy machine gun fire in an event captured by his helmet-mounted camera and later uploaded to YouTube. 

Congressional Candidate Teddy Daniels Releases Resurfaced Combat Footage Where he was Shot in Combat #PA08 #FlipPA08 #KAG (1/2)https://t.co/46P6Jhnu3c pic.twitter.com/cPKPDjuWRx

— Teddy Daniels for Congress (@DanielsCongress) February 12, 2020

After the Army, Daniels went on to found a security, transport, and consulting firm dedicated to protecting highly valuable and highly sought after shipments of marijuana to Colorado dispensaries. The company was a wild success, going public just 8 months after its founding. 

As Daniels’ race for the nomination plays out, two very different sides of the Republican Party appear to be on a collision course heading into primary day. Daniels, the America-First outsider is predicted to be a front-runner in the six-man race, for the right to take on Democrat incumbent Matthew Cartwright. His main competitor, Jim Bognet, is an establishment insider who served a leading role on Mitt Romney’s failed 2012 presidential bid – and did not vote in the 2016 Presidential Election.