Clinton hammers vulnerable GOP senator in Pennsylvania

by Mallory Shelbourne - 10/22/16 6:48 PM ET

In PA, @HillaryClinton hits Sen. Toomey: If he can't stand up to Trump, "can you be sure he'll stand up for you?" https://t.co/zNWksY34Ct

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) October 22, 2016

Hillary Clinton slammed Sen. Pat Toomey on Saturday, going after the vulnerable Pennsylvania Republican senator’s position on Donald Trump.

“He still refuses to stand up to Donald Trump,” the Democratic presidential nominee said of Toomey during a rally in Pittsburgh, Pa., noting by contrast that “a lot of Republicans have” stood up to the GOP nominee.

{mosads}”They have had the grit and the guts to stand up and say, ‘He does not represent me,'” Clinton continued.

“But Pat Toomey heard Donald attack a grieving Gold Star family who lost their son in Iraq, he heard Donald called Mexican immigrants rapists, he heard him say terrible things about women, he heard him spread the lie that our first black president wasn’t really born in America,” she said.

“Now how much more does Pat Toomey need to hear?” Clinton asked. “If he doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Donald Trump after all this, then can you be sure he’ll stand up for you when it counts against powerful interests?”

Toomey has not endorsed Trump, but has said he will not vote for Clinton.

On Friday, Toomey told the Washington Examiner that he does not see why any Pennsylvania voters supporting Trump would vote for McGinty.

“Pat Toomey has been, and will continue to be, an independent leader in the Senate on issues ranging from gun safety to ending Wall Street bailouts,” Ted Kwong, communications director for Toomey’s campaign, said after Clinton’s speech.

“Today is just further proof that hyper-partisan, ethically challenged Katie McGinty will be a rubber stamp for everything Hillary Clinton wants to do in Washington,” Kwong added, referring to Toomey’s Democratic opponent.

Clinton on Saturday praised McGinty, telling the crowd that she is the type of senator western Pennsylvania needs.

Clinton’s criticism of the GOP senator comes as he holds a slim 1.8-point lead over his Democratic opponent in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.

Amid her attack on Toomey, Clinton also emphasized bipartisanship as she spoke of Trump’s supporters in the Keystone State.

“I want you to tell them that I understand that they need a president who cares about them, will listen to them, and I want to be their president too,” she said.

–Updated: 8:20 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Hillary Clinton Pennsylvania