Bill McSwain Talks Running For Governor Of PA, Being A Marine

WEST CHESTER, PA — Bill McSwain is Pennsylvania through and through.

The Chester County native grew up in the area, his wife, Stephanie, who he has known since the fourth grade, grew up in this part of the state as well, and he continues to reside in the West Chester region.

Now McSwain, former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania under President Donald Trump, is hoping to further his name recognition throughout the rest of the commonwealth.

McSwain, 52, is a Republican running to become Pennsylvania’s next governor, and he hopes his status as what he terms a conservative outsider helps him resonate with Keystone State voters.

“I’ve lived a life of public service. Public service has always been very important to me,” McSwain told Patch in an exclusive interview Friday.

McSwain, who is a married father of four children ranging in age from 15 to 23, served in the United States Marine Corp. after graduating from college. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California.

He left the Marine Corp. in 1997 to attend Harvard Law School, from which he graduated in 2000. It was at this time that he moved back to West Chester with his wife, and the two started their own family in the very area where their respective families had longstanding roots.

McSwain practiced law briefly in private practice but said he had always had his sights set on being a federal prosecutor; that was the reason he wanted to be a lawyer in the first place.

He started working as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in 2003, and eventually was named as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania when President Trump took office, since federal prosecutors serve at the pleasure of the president.

McSwain said it’s a very rigorous and in-depth process to become a U.S. Attorney, and he was very honored to have held the position for four years.

Now, McSwain has his sights set on Harrisburg, and he hopes voters will have a chance to learn about him, his positions, and why he feels he’s the right person for the job.

“I want to lead our state because I love Pennsylvania,” he told Patch. “I’m a native of Pennsylvania, very attached to Pennsylvania. I want to fight for the citizens of Pennsylvania who I think have been poorly served by their current state officials.”

McSwain said his focus is on making sure state residents have good jobs, good schools, and safe neighborhoods, all of which he feels the current governor, Tom Wolf, has failed to deliver.

He also cautioned voters against Democrat Josh Shapiro, the current state attorney general who is also mounting a gubernatorial run, saying Shapiro’s policies would likely be similar failures to that of Wolf.

“We can do so much better in all three of those areas,” McSwain said.

McSwain said that he’s not a career politician like Shapiro, and he believes what voters need is someone experienced in the private sector, but who also has some level of public service under his or her belt such as himself.

“We will do things differently when I’m governor,” McSwain said. “That really starts with limiting the size of government.”

McSwain said state government has grown, and the tax burden on citizens has worsened, under both Democratic and Republican governors of the past, and he aims to do things differently in Harrisburg.

“I want to change that destructive cycle,” he said.

McSwain said, “we are underperforming in so many different ways in Pennsylvania,” and that it is “absolutely crucial for the future of the state that we don’t have a third-term Tom Wolf.”

McSwain says he distinguishes himself from fellow Republicans who are seeking the nomination in that many of the other GOP candidates are career politicians who have “had their chance.”

And he also says he’s the only candidate in the race who has law enforcement experience with a “demonstrated record being dedicated to public safety.”

McSwain says he is also the only Marine in the race, and that he takes valuable lessons he learned from his time in the service with him in his everyday life, both personally and professionally.

“Marines are very mission oriented and don’t stop until the mission is accomplished,” he said. “I think we need that type of determination and that kind of grit in our next governor.”

Overall, McSwain said he feels that we are currently living with a state government that is too involved in too many aspects of everyday life for the average citizens, and he has his sights set on less government overreach.

“I think Pennsylvania is a very special place,” he said. “It’s also known throughout the world as the cradle of liberty. As governor, liberty is not going to die on my watch.”

On a personal level, McSwain and his wife just recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, and they both still very much enjoy residing in this part of the commonwealth.

“Chester County’s got a lot of variety to it,” he said, noting the county offers everything from rural, countryside living to more suburban and urbanized living in the eastern part of the county that’s closer to Philadelphia.

Really, there’s something for everyone here, he said.

And he is impressed with the revitalization that has been made over the past 20 years to the Borough of West Chester, which serves as the seat of Chester County.

McSwain said he recalls the days when there was minimal foot traffic in downtown West Chester, whereas today much has changed in the borough, with plenty of dining and shopping establishments offering plenty of opportunity for both residents and visitors alike to enjoy.

“It’s changed a lot since I was a kid,” he said. “There’s been a lot of improvement in the borough.”