People in Northwestern Pennsylvania are still talking about the story Erie News Now was the first to report yesterday.
     

It's the story of Mark Graham...a man who said in a television ad that he voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but would not vote for him in 2020.  Yesterday we reported that voting records reveal that Graham did not vote at all in 2016.

 

During an interview yesterday with reporter John Last, Graham told how he, a registered Republican, became involved with a Democratic political action committee's ad campaign to discredit the president.
     

He said it all started with a focus group formed in 2018 by Congressional Candidate Ron DiNicola.  Graham said the focus group was comprised of local Republicans who supported DiNicola's run for Congress. Former Erie County Director of Administration Jerry Mifsud was working with DiNicola.

 

"I sat through this focus group and a New York Times reporter had sought out Jerry.  How he got Jerry I don't know.  Maybe it was DiNicola.  Maybe it was the Democratic Party,” Graham said.
   

The reporter wanted to do a story on President Trump's popularity in Erie.  He asked the focus group how they felt about the president.

 

"That's when I told him ‘It's like if you re-elect this guy it's like throwing gasoline on a fire.’ I just made it up.  He said, ‘I like that.  I'm going to use that,” Graham said.
   

After the New York Times article was published, Graham was contacted by a representative of the political action committee called American Bridge. They met at a local restaurant and the representative sized-up Graham.

 

"Seeing if I photographed well, if I talk well, or if I have any type of criteria that fit his reasoning to be here,” said Graham. “Apparently I did because he signed me a paper saying 'Would you be interested in making a video?’ I said ‘I don't care."
   

The ad man then looked for a place to shoot the anti-Trump ad and fell in love with Graham's creekside property in Fairview Township.

 

"So he comes out here and he goes, ‘Can we shoot the video here?’  John, absolutely. I get to show off a little bit,” said Graham.

 

In Part 2 of the interview, Graham will answer the question about if he ever believed that he would be such a recognizable face on TV because of the ad. He also will talk about the public response he received from the ad before yesterday's bombshell.