Holding a meet and greet at the Gratz Auction in northern Dauphin County and next to the Schuylkill County line, candidate Josh First provided an in-depth report on the experience.

Volunteer Jason Burkhart (left) has
been an incredible go-to guy since the
beginning of our campaign, and we
always enjoy spending time with Frank
Ryan (who was off buying fish sandwiches
for everyone) and his campaign manager,
Toni Gilhooley (shown), who stopped by for
a friendly chat. Demonstrating friendly
competition and their common views,
Frank and Josh introduced themselves to
several voters at the First for Congress table.

"Overall, I met hundreds of loyal, patriotic Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and sadly, many many citizens who are not yet registered to vote.

Over the course of the eight hours that Jason and I were there, we spoke with hundreds of people, and at length and in detail with probably fifty people, covering topics across the spectrum: Foreign policy, trade, jobs, farmland conservation, the direction of the nation, core values, and gun rights were the primary subjects. Standing by Israel in her hour of need was brought up several times, and I was rigorously quizzed about my commitment to Israel's security. That's unsurprising, given that Gratz is in a more religious area, but I've also been asked that question in every county in the district that I've spoken in. These voters believe that the Obama administration is abandoning Israel, and they want elected officials who will stand with her.

One positive insight in particular was gained by speaking with a young, friendly, bright truck driver from Indiana, who was in Gratz to get a load of windows for new home construction in the Mid-West. He's been hauling windows from Gratz for weeks, and he pointed out that it's a small but reassuring indicator that the economy is slowly recovering. New windows means new home or home upgrades. He had stopped at the auction to buy Shoo Fly pie for his wife, a native Pennsylvanian, who wanted a taste of her central Pennsylvania home. Isn't that sweet?! And he's the bearer of good news. I asked him to move back to Pennsylvania, but he likes Indiana.

Josh First with two voters at the First
for Congress table, with Delmar (left)
becoming a newly registered voter at the
age of 74

Another reoccurring theme we heard is that plenty of conservatives still have not forgiven the Republican Party, choosing to remain as newly registered Democrats and Independents until 'Republicans begin acting like Republicans again'. This is a refrain we heard while collecting ballot petition signatures back in February. Not being an incumbent definitely has appeal. Not surprisingly, both incumbents Tim Holden (D) and David Argall (R), were rating very low with these voters, who were from both Dauphin and Schuylkill counties. Voters told us they want someone new, and they liked me, pledged their votes to me, and wished me luck. It's a lot of fun earning votes this way.

Another interesting experience was meeting the old-time rural, conservative Democrats, like the ones I grew up with. No, they assured me, they don't always vote Democrat and with two notable exceptions out of about two dozen people in this category, they were just as unhappy with the direction of our nation as the disaffected former Republicans we spoke to.

Happily, by the end of the day we had nine new voters registered. Here are photos of a few of them signing their registration forms. All became Republicans, by the way.

I'm working hard to meet voters, and I hope people see that effort and acknowledge it with their votes on May 18th," said Josh First.