Pennsylvania Republican Rob Mercuri promotes endorsement from Jan. 6 denier

Pennsylvania state Sen. Rob Mercuri (R-Pine) ran a campaign ad of him shaking hands with Beaver County Sheriff Tony Guy, a far-right conspiracy theorist and anti-abortion advocate.

Mercuri, who is attempting to flip Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District this November, aired an ad on Aug. 28 that featured him shaking hands with Guy. Mercuri also highlighted an endorsement from Guy in an X post from April 3.

I am proud to be endorsed by this strong Law Enforcement team from Beaver County. pic.twitter.com/hlxJz8w6Xs

— Rob Mercuri (@mercuri4pa) April 3, 2024

In February 2023, Guy suggested in a social media comment that Jan. 6 was incited by federal agents from the FBI and the Department of Justice.

My prediction…it will show Govt. Agents breaching the protective fencing, hiding that fencing so that innocent people didn’t know the were trespassing, and encouraging people to keep moving forward and enter the Capitol. J6 was incited by the DOJ/FBI

— Tony Guy (@Tony_Guy_) February 21, 2023

In 2016, three former Beaver County sheriff’s deputies sued Guy and claimed that they had been wrongfully terminated for their Democratic political beliefs. The same deputies sued Guy again in 2019 for allegedly violating their settlement agreement by making disparaging remarks about them in public.

Guy and Mercuri appeared on a panel together for a town hall last month, where Guy claimed that “scientists almost universally understand that life begins at the moment of conception.” Mercuri has made similar comments in the past and said that abortion exceptions should be “exceedingly rare.”

Mercuri has also voted against making abortion a constitutional right in Pennsylvania, co-sponsored a six-week abortion ban and praised the reversal of Roe v. Wade. In August 2023, Mercuri scrubbed anti-abortion rhetoric from his campaign website, and he has since attempted to distance himself from his previous abortion record.

In November, Mercuri will face incumbent Rep. Chris Deluzio (D), who is seeking his second term in office. 270 To Win currently designates the race as “Leans Democrat.” In his short time in Congress, Deluzio has co-sponsored a Medicare for All bill and voiced support for expanding labor protections.