Summary:

In this episode of The Zekely Podcast, host Zeke interviews Brandon Dukes, a Democrat running in special election for a State House seat in Pennsylvania on August 18th. The conversation explores data centers, reproductive healthcare, public school funding and the challenges families and small businesses face regarding financial stability and affordability. Brandon Dukes would help expand the Democratic majority in the State House, and ensure a GSD (Get Shit Done) agenda in Harrisburg. With a Democratic trifecta a possibility for the first time in over 30 years in Pennsylvania, the stakes are high going into the midterm elections.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Brandon Dukes

02:06 Youngest

03:06 Childhood Trauma

06:16 Believe in Better

09:03 Duke It Out

11:33 Democrat

13:30 Childcare

15:41 Star Wars

17:47 The Force

20:50 Dream

22:55 Reproductive Rights

24:01 3D Printing

26:24 Safety

27:33 Data Centers

29:37 Disaffected

31:04 Hope

32:57 Future

35:05 Wrap Up

Brandon Dukes: https://www.dukesforpa.com/

Full Video Episode Available On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheZekelyPodcast

Short Clips Can Be Found On TikTok: @drzeketayler/@thezekelypodcast and Instagram: @thezekelypodcast

www.thezekelypodcast.com

Hello, I'm Zeke, and welcome to the Zeke Podcast. Let's talk, Pennsylvania. The guest I have today lives in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, and through his 16 years of commercial lending experience, he's seen firsthand the challenges families face when it comes to financial stability. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, he's decided to take his work ethic and knowledge to Harrisburg by flipping an open state house seat blue on August 18th.

Thank you so much for being here, Brandon Dukes.

I’m Zeke, a doctor, a Pennsylvanian and unapologetic supporter of Democratic values. You might have seen me on social media working my ass off for Democrats and meeting some pretty amazing people along the way - like President Barack Obama and Governor Josh Shapiro.

For years, I’ve knocked thousands of doors all over Pennsylvania and poured my heart and soul into supporting candidates and causes that make a difference—from local school board races to national elections. The personal is political, and I take every election in Pennsylvania personally.

Where the mainstream media has failed you, I will give you truth and independence. You’ll hear from Democratic leaders, candidates, and change-makers who are working to improve the health of the Commonwealth, and it won’t be boring as hell.

No matter where you are, I’ll meet you with hope and a plan to make your community better one day at a time. Welcome to the Zekely Podcast. Let’s talk Pennsylvania.

Thank you, Doc. I appreciate it. It's good to be on the show. Big fan.

special election, man. Special election. How we have so many of these in Pennsylvania.

We do, we do, and and guess what? Democrats do very good in special elections, so for the most part, across the country. So we're hoping to be one of them, add to the to the list. Definitely.

That's right. Absolutely. So for those

who don't know, a Republican was serving in this seat and she has stepped down. And now we have a special election in Pennsylvania where we have to fill that seat before the midterm elections. You actually have to run twice, right? If if you win now, you have to run again November third.

Correct, I'll be like the incumbent and running for reelection, technically. So yeah.

That's correct. Very

Crazy. Crazy crazy.

Well, I am very appreciative you are running as a Democrat, and we're gonna learn all about you, play some games and have some fun. Are ready?

Let's do it.

All right, well, Brandon, you grew up in Pittsburgh as the youngest of four children in the middle class family. How did your childhood and upbringing shape the kind of person you are today?

Well, being the youngest of four, you get y you know, it's you get your voice suppressed. It's hard to, you know, get your voice out there. So, that kinda

helped me shape me into the person I'm being. but yeah, being from working middle class, having a gave me a good work ethic, worked my way through college. eventually I graduated and University of

Pittsburgh.

I do think having a strong family background makes you understand what folks are going through. especially again being middle class you do

see, you know, the the struggle that people are facing today, if not worse than what it was when I was growing up. So that's what I want to run for. I want to be the voice for those who again haven't been heard and they need to be heard and that's what I hope to do in Harrisburg.

You had to fight for your seat at the table growing up, and now you're going to be at the table in Harrisburg

Yeah.

fighting for everyone else in your district and around Pennsylvania. So that's great.

Well, I'm the oldest of four, okay? And you're

you're the youngest of four, so we're gonna play childhood trauma, okay? All right, so I have some questions for you. Hopefully we can bond over this, all right? Did anyone ever

Sure. Maybe.

forget you somewhere?

No, but I

No.

was told I was adopted and I believed it until I got to high school.

Yeah, that yeah, that sounds like a plausible story. I'm sure your family told you. My parents actually

forgot my brother at home once. I'm the only so he was the youngest, okay? And it was really

yes. there you go.

scary because we had a pond at our like I grew up in the Styx in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, okay. It was a

small town called Shenick. And we had a pond

Mm-hmm.

that was out in front of our house and I I don't know if wires got crossed. We had four of us.

And my brother was left at home and my mom was freaking out because you're like, my god, he

Sure.

crawled outside. We're gonna find him belly up in the pond. He was fine, he was in the house. But I was just curious if your family ever forgot you somewhere on on the farm

in Pittsburgh.

Well not me, but

my s but my sister did. She was the the she was a year older than me. She when she was like three I think they c they couldn't find her and they

Mm.

panicked and then the whole time she was next door playing with the kids playhouse. So close, but it wasn't me. So yeah.

Yeah. I mean honestly it's

our parents' fault. Four kids, what were they thinking? You know I mean? Yeah. All right,

Th that's what I said, you know? We couldn't control that.

here's another one. because you were the youngest, did you find you got picked on the most? Yeah. I mean you did say they told you you were adopted, so I guess that was just a part of it.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Man

They did and my mom and my aunt said, No, don't listen to them and you know this and that until a few teachers in school saw the last name and said, you're I know who your brothers and sisters are and they knew me right away and that's when I, you know, found out that yes. They went, So but yes, definitely getting picked on a lot. It's all right.

The Dukes. You're the Dukes. my god. I'm sorry, man. Alright, here's another one. did

you ever have to fight, literally, to get food at the table because you were the youngest?

Not really. No. No,

No.

I will say that's one thing we never we never fought over. Normally I was the one who who ate everything and at night. My brother would eat

Ha ha.

too and stuff like that. So we would all eat eat the food in the house, my mom would say. So it was normally me and my brother were kinda tag team on that.

Okay. Got you didn't get like the crappy

part of the brownie or or the last you know, cookie crumb or anything. You you were there. You got you got to partake.

No, I'm

it's funny 'cause they all they all joke at me to this day, like when we're at a family gathering and they Come on guys,

let's eat, I'm the first one to get up and everybody is sitting there waiting. I don't know why. So it's always a running joke in my family that there goes Brandon, he's gonna eat first and now they have a wife and kids, again he's gonna eat before his his wife and kids sometimes. But no, so I actually I eat first and I make sure I do, so yes. Sure.

Okay, good, good, good, good. All right, here's the last one. being the

youngest, you must have been a hand-me-down kid, right? Were you the hand-me-down kid?

Yes and no. What thing is like me and my brother were four years apart, so my mother would always dress us alike. And same with my two sisters, they were four years apart. So my mother would dress them alike, and it was kind of weird, so to speak. But

Ha ha ha.

now my brother was you know, we we were different shapes and sizes, so hand me down clothes never really worked for us, so no, but we did again dress up alike, so yeah.

So like but the family photos were quite eclectic, on the walls in your family's home.

yeah, definitely.

Got some good nineties photos in there.

Brandon, your campaign slogan

is believe in better. Why should people believe you will make their lives better in District 12?

Well simple. I mean I'll represent change. We've had the same representation for about thirty years in district in Harrisburg. And this is the one chance where we can actually flip the seat. you know, I if if you want better wages right now, we live in an area where wages are low and everything price of living is is skyrocketing.

we live in an area where there's a lot of growth development, which means our infrastructure is not able to keep up because it's growing so fast out here in Cranberry and in the district. So that's something I would invest in while in Harrisburg is our infrastructure. And of course, if you want to keep sending your kids to a good public school, that's something I will continue to invest in. We do have the looming threat of public funding cuts, something my opponent is very big on doing, which could most likely raise property taxes because those school districts have to make up for.

that funding they lost for these

Mm-hmm.

school voucher programs or as I call it socialism for private schools. So that's one thing that you will get with me. Not just change, but pretty much simply just a a better way of of living, a better way of life. you know, even in your profession, you know, healthcare, something that needs to be readily accessible and more accessible, especially Butler County being considered a rural area. we do have a lot of, you know, we don't have a lot of local hospitals, a lot of rural hospitals across the state shut down.

Due to the big beautiful bill that went into effect, unfortunately. So I think you know, health care is something that that needs to be a right. And my opponent is big on slashing Medicare and Medicaid, which is very detrimental to a big portion of our population here in the district who benefit from it. which I find to be cruel. And of course, women's health care too. You know, abortion is safe and legal in PA for now, I like to say, and I do believe it's health care. And my opponent is someone who

is vehemently against it, including cases of, you know, rape and incest. So exactly. So if you if you elect me, if I go to Harrisburg on August eighteenth, I will definitely be a defender of that. I'll definitely protect those rights for everybody. So that's what you get with the vote for Brandon.

Yeah, I believe that that will be better than any Republican candidate running for office in Pennsylvania. And you made a little mistake. It's not the big beautiful bill, it's a big bullshit bill. Okay. Because it that I mean, I will not call it the big

beautiful bill. It is terrible what it is doing for Pennsylvania, just terrible. And we need people like you to be in Harrisburg to pass as many laws as possible to protect our state rights. Because right now, the federal government is leaving all the states to defend for themselves.

Mm-hmm.

So

I I truly believe that you will make your district better and also your vote will affect me in Montgomery County. So you're not just gonna

Yes.

make your district better,

but all districts

Mm-hmm.

in Pennsylvania.

Well, we're gonna play Duke It Out. Okay. I don't know what your

teachers saw when they saw your family. Okay. Maybe they maybe they had that name for you, but we're gonna play Duke It Out, okay? I wanna know what your response would be to anyone in Harrisburg on the following issues, okay? Maternity leave.

Yes.

You would duke that out, you'd be like, We're gonna I'm gonna throw down for maternity leave in Pennsylvania. Yeah.

yeah, yeah, we'll duke it out. We'll fight.

We'll go full round Rocky Four style. Yeah, let's do it.

All right,

good. Because that was not in the budget. That was just passed in Pennsylvania. It was missing. It wasn't missing because of Democrats. It was missing because

Mm-hmm. Right.

of Republicans. And we're going to get the trifecta this year. Okay? Right?

I agree.

We're going to expand our statehouse majority, get the trifecta, and get maternity leave for people trying to have a family in Pennsylvania. We want to be a resource in the region. We want other states to look at us and say, that's a good place to raise a family where you live

Yep.

and where everyone lives in Pennsylvania. All right, how about LGBTQQ

I agree.

plus protections?

Let's duke it out. I will fight for those

Stuke it out.

tooth and nail.

Good. Yeah. An equality act is passed multiple times in the state house where you're gonna go. It needs to pass

Mm-hmm. Yes.

in the state senate, but unfortunately Republicans control it. And I know that your the your challenger, Republican challenger, is not going to be on that side of things when it comes to LG LGBTQ plus rights. No, no way.

No I don't. No, he'll just walk away from that fight.

What about minimum wage?

Yes, yes, let's let's duke it out. Let's do it. I'm excited. Let's do it. Gotta raise it.

gotta raise it, right? That's what govern

Governor Josh Shapiro wants to raise it. The state house has voted to raise it. Again, the trifecta needs to happen. And we will raise the minimum wage. I can't believe it. $7.25 an hour. Embarrassing. Embarrassing that Ohio figured it out. That West Virginia figured it out, right? New Jersey, Delaware, every state that touches us has figured it out except Pennsylvania, because of Republican politicians. So I'm glad you duked that out.

That's true.

All right, here's the last one. Recreational marijuana.

Let's duke it out and then mellow out.

Stuke it out, man. That's right. Thank you. Yes. I mean, come on.

We are losing money in Pennsylvania.

Yes.

Literally, people drive across the border to get marijuana and to get better paying jobs, right? And we need to keep,

Yeah.

if we want to keep our revenue in Pennsylvania, we need to send people like Brandon Dukes to Harrisburg so we can get this done, get more shit done, as Josh Shapiro says.

That's right. That's right. August eighteenth, people, August eighteenth. We

August eighteenth.

can do it.

Hey, thank you so much for listening to this episode of The Zekely Podcast. And if you're enjoying yourself, please take a moment to rate my Podcast. Five stars would be great and leave a comment as well. And if you're watching this on YouTube, please hit follow. OK, back to the show.

Brandon, why are you a Democrat? And why do you choose to represent the Democratic Party?

It goes back to my biography, you know, working class. Democrats have always been the party of working class families. going back to FDR, the New Deal. Again, we spoke about Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security. We're still talking about those today over s almost close to 80 years ago. I I think, you know, they have always been pro union Democrats. I myself was not part of Union, but I got a lot of union endorsements and I've always supported the union way of life because they were able to provide

a living for a family of four or six like mine and just off of one income. So that's why I'm a Democrat. Also too, I've always believed in you know, minority rights in general. women, LGBTQ, tra everything. It's always human rights. That's how I look at it as. So I was always a big defender of again, I was the youngest of four. So I always was always the one who got passed over and

Like I said, my voice was more suppressed, and now I kinda have that energy to do for others who are not as as privileged as as you know I was. So definitely using my voice for the less fortunate. And I feel like the Democrats were always that party. and they were always just cooler compared to the Republican, you know? Just cooler, yeah. Yeah. Yes.

Thank you. Thank you. I find the Democratic platform extremely cool, edgy, and sexy. Like I I mean, I

r if you've read it, it look, it's 91 pages. Okay, but it is free online. I enjoyed it. It is everything I want. Like you said, unions, healthcare, civil rights, you know, the biggest tenth party. But those things only get done if you have power, right? Politics is all about power. And you can't do anything unless you have power.

And I agree with you. I mean, the Democratic Party believes that government works, that when done correctly, it can help the most amount of people. So I appreciate that we share those values and ideals. And that's why I'm gonna help you get elected, because I want those ideals to stay in Pennsylvania.

Brandon, the Republican state rep who was resigning, okay, she did a couple things. Now, I'm just gonna say some of the things that she did, that she voted, because I know that the Republican running to fill her seat is gonna do the exact same thing. Because Republicans in Pennsylvania 95% of the time vote as a block. Okay. So I'm gonna tell you what she did and what you can expect for the next person who comes in, okay? So she asked legislators before she left.

To consider expanding childcare in the state capital, okay? To make it easier for lawmakers who have parents and must regularly travel to Harrisburg. That's great, right? And yet, she voted against expanding childcare in Pennsylvania, as did most of her Republican colleagues. She continues to vote against their best interest and hers. And that is a theme of Republican politicians. So I only have to assume that you would not do that if elected this August 18th.

yeah, no, like I said, I am a father of a three year old, student to be three year old, and I have one on the way in December. me and my wife are very fortunate. We get to work from home, so we don't have to deal with child care. It does get

tough, don't get me wrong.

'cause

right now I had

to lock her upstairs in a room and keep her from screaming and and making a mess

Yeah, yeah.

down here on camera. But but no, like I said, it's it's a lot. It becomes a lot. And I I do see where she was coming from, the former state representative, and she was on the right track, but then like they all do, they're so close to getting it, and then they just complete one eighty and they go back to their old ways. So close.

Right? So close. Like they walk, they they walk into the

point and miss it every time, right? It's just so crazy that they just can't do the right thing because I feel like they're not truly the party of family values. They don't actually want to build families

Mm-hmm.

the right way in Pennsylvania by supporting people and helping people during the toughest times in their lives. Because life is pretty hard. You know, raising a family

Yeah.

is the hardest job in the world. And what

Mm.

I see time and time again is that Democrats in Pennsylvania.

are trying to pass laws to use the hard earned money that's gets sent to Harrisburg, our tax dollars, to help people, to help people get through these times. So I'm glad that you would vote to help with childcare, not just in Harrisburg, but around the state.

Brandon, I understand you are a big Star Wars fan.

Little birdie must have told you, yes, I've been a Star Wars fan since I was ten, yes.

Y yes. Okay,

all right. Well what's your favorite Star Wars series?

I like the you mean like all the T V shows or in general? I well,

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. What's your favorite one?

my favorite movie right now is Revenge of the Sith, episode three, 'cause I feel like that's

Okay. Mm-hmm.

like the real beginning of you start to see the change of Anakin becomes Darth Vader and you see the Sith take over and

Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

the Intergalic Empire. And then of course I am gonna say seasons one and two of The Mandalorian. Season three doesn't exist

Okay, okay. See f

to me.

doesn't so I I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, to be fair, okay, but I will tell you that Andor had me in a chokehold, man. That that to me that to me

Hmm, that's the other one. That's the other one.

felt like it was real, like it was art

Mm-hmm.

imitating life, fighting the empire, you know, just the way that they treated undocumented people, the coalitions, the progressives, the moderates, you know.

the skittish people who don't really know when to come into the fight and just how long it takes, how many years it takes to fight the good fight and to just get a little bit of progress. it

Yeah.

was just so amazing. I thought that that transcended Star Wars in many ways. I I was devastated it it was only three seasons, I think, but it was

Yeah.

fantastic.

It was even won a few, I think, Emmy Awards. One of the first Star Wars series memory. But yeah, no, that's the other one I I want to mention too, because it was it's what you're seeing today. You know the one scene

Amazing. Mm-hmm.

where they're on where they the the big riot that happened and they were just bombing

Yeah.

the

innocent civilians and this was before twenty twenty four I think and

Yeah. I know.

you know, we're like, that may happen here, I don't think it will, and then, well, he spoke

I know.

too soon. So yeah, it was it was quite scary. It's what we saw we're seeing today. So on the national level in America.

Yeah, it's in America and you know, the when Andorra

got picked up to go to, you know, just because he was undocumented essentially and

Mm-hmm.

he got sent off to a work camp and everything. I mean, it was it's just tou

Yeah.

every episode was like, my god, I'm I'm living in a Star Wars a Star Wars

Yeah.

series right now. But it was so good and so hopeful. so I'm glad that we both share that together. but

we're gonna play use the force, okay?

Exactly, yeah. Cool.

I would wanna know from you, would it be appropriate to use the force as a medical provider?

In the following scenarios, okay? Delivering a baby. You think it like you

Sure. Yes.

think I could like rotate the child a little bit and like help out if there's like a little shoulder dystopia or something? Is that okay? Okay. Right? I think that would be appropriate. Yeah, I think it'd kind of cool, honestly. Make a lot of friends. You'd be very popular on labor and delivery for sure. For sure. All right. How about

Absolutely. It whatever makes the birth easier for the mother. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. I would think that'd be it's yes. I would love to see it.

re s resetting a dislocated hip? Let me think about that.

Yes, I would like to see that. Yeah, sure, yeah.

Yeah, right? Yeah. I mean, I don't

know, I don't know if you've ever seen videos of that. You don't use finesse when you reset a hip. Okay. That's like these you if you ever see like people put their leg up on the table and like are like yanking on their leg to pop it back into place. I mean, to just

huh.

use the force and just wave it back in the that would look really cool, to be honest. So I'm not recommending you ever wanna don't you're don't like

No.

go Google that. It's gonna scar you if you watch someone pop a hip back.

But it is not

I'm young as I'm

I'm young as a four, you can't scar me anymore.

Yeah, it's it is not a soft procedure

putting hips back into their joints. Okay. I've seen it a couple of times. It looks painful. All right, how

Mm.

about this one? Taking away someone's anxiety while placing an IV with Jedi mind tricks.

You know what? Yeah. I wanna see that. I wanna see that. Yes. I think I will yeah.

Yeah? I think that'd be nice. I have to say, I always

find it interesting. You people come into the hospital, I'm an anesthesiologist, and you'll

Mm.

have someone with so many tattoos all over their body, and they're the ones that hate needles the most. It's so funny. And

Really?

they just yeah, they hate they hate getting IVs placed. But you need but if you have to have surgery, you gotta have it placed, right? So I was always thinking like

Yeah.

if you could distract them, you know, Jedi Mind tricks while you place an IV. Also pretty popular guy in in the pre-operative area. All right, here's the last one, okay.

Yeah. That that's the whole point. That's how they work. Yeah.

Cardioversion. Okay. So a cardioversion is when you shock someone when they're having an arrhythmia. Now, is that more like Sith, like dark side powers when you use electricity? But I Yoda did that once

Mm-hmm.

too, didn't he? Didn't didn't Yoda use the the electrical stuff out of his hands? No? Or is that like not good? Okay, so that's like that's kind of like trending towards the badness. It is Sith power. Okay, so okay. But technically you could cardiovert

No, that was Emperor Palpatine, you you're thinking of. Yeah. But it it is Sith Powers, yes. Yes. That is Sith Power, yes.

someone then if you were a Sith. You could like shock them.

yeah, we'll we'll I guess I guess a broken clock is right twice type of situation. Sure, we'll give them

Right.

credit for saving a heart attack patient. I know.

Okay, fine. I mean he would probably induce an arrhythmia probably honestly, but

you could technically shock someone back if you use the force

There you go. You just have to be a siphloor for the rest of your life. So that's that's probably the only caveat of it.

No, I can't be on that side. I'm sorry. But yeah. All right. Well, hope Hope Springs Eternal. If I ever get the force, I'm gonna bring it to the hospital.

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Brandon, as I said before, through your 16 years of work in commercial lending, you've seen how many people struggle to make ends meet. what will you do in Harrisburg to help Pennsylvanians achieve the American dream?

Like I said, I'd like to go back to days with the union where they were you know, union jobs where families one one household income took enough of covered whole family for.

So we need to get back to something similar like the New Deal that can you know, help fund a lot of programs, a lot of training training programs, a lot of, you know, schools, I think a lot more high schools should force not force, but you know, encourage like trade schools or unions instead of just college, since college isn't for everyone.

and most importantly, what I like to think is holding the wealthy responsible to pay their fair share. middle class, poor class, we're always paying our share in taxes and it kills us, it does. But the wealthy at times, they get taxed too little or to none to the point where they could afford it. And I know Pennsylvania has twenty, maybe twenty one now billionaires total, I I want to say that number could have gone up.

just by the time I finish that sentence. So I think they can afford to kick in and in in this country, if if you're allowed to make that amount of money, you can definitely afford to give back a little bit more. So that's that's my stance. That's how I think we can make you know, better living for most Pennsylvanians, especially those in district twelve.

I agree. Yeah. Raise the minimum wage. That's huge, right? And then you kind of talked about this earlier, and I wanted to connect those dots. You know, when you fully fund public schools, you decrease your property taxes. Okay. And the Republican

Mm-hmm. Yes.

politicians in Pennsylvania have been trying to defund public school for the last 30 years, despite the fact that the Supreme Court in Pennsylvania said it was unconstitutional. Unconstitutional. And we are still not fully funding public schools. We're getting closer.

But in order to do that, we have to get more people like you elected and get the trifecta, right? So

Exactly.

there are so many ways to make the cost of living better in Pennsylvania, give people the American dream, a place to rent, a place to buy, but their democratic values they're gonna get us there. So I I appreciate what you're laying down.

Brandon, the Republican state rep who resigned in your district and is probably gonna be just like the next one it gets elected, voted no to prohibit physically obstructing access to reproductive health care clinics in Pennsylvania. She also voted no to require health insurance companies to pay for contraception. That is just terrible.

women's rights, it's it's abortions healthcare. Access to

I agree.

'cause like I said, if we take that away, what's gonna happen is when women have unwanted pregnancies, that can lead to very unsafe ways of determination, which can lead not just to long term defects, but death possibly, most likely. So that's why it's important to keep it safe and legal here in Pennsylvania.

and I wanna reiterate reiterate my point previously about my opponent who again is vehemently against abortions, including including incest and rape. The fact that you are gonna tell a female no when they have been raped or, you know, incest it boggles my mind and I will not be that type of legislator. I will definitely fight for that right. Definitely.

Thank God. Thank thank

goodness. Cause that is beyond the pale.

It did.

Brandon,

I understand you like to dabble in 3D printing.

That is true.

Yeah.

How how much poop do you make in a day you think?

it's it's the one printer I have, it's it's ridiculous. Yeah, I actually have had to make a poop shoot so it doesn't so it slides

A poops yeah, I don't know

down. Yeah, so can but I have the one, it's a bamboo lab. It actually it's the one where it changes colors. So that's where a lot of it it's yeah. Probably turning a lot of voters off.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's where all the poop and for those who don't know, we're probably freaking people out who don't know. So so when when you have

a 3D printer that has multiple colors, when it switches colors, that has to purge a little bit of color before it switches, and it's called poop. And so there's a poop

Yes.

shoot where the poop comes out and you collect it. I bet do you keep your poop like in a box or you throw it a you you pick Yeah, you you pitch the poop.

No, I I pitch it. It's not it's not worth it if you have one that changes colors, so the old ones

did. Yeah.

So I'm getting

all these targeted ads to recycle your poop.

Mm-hmm.

And you know, they're very expensive right now, but I feel like they'll get cheaper. You have to like get an industrial blender and then it melts it down. You can, you know, make, you know, probably multicolored spools or whatever. But I'm collecting it all right now. We have a gigantic cardboard box. We've only had the 3D printers for a couple months now. But I just

Okay.

feel like eventually we're gonna be able to recycle it. And then I don't wanna throw because it that stuff's expensive. You know, it's like twenty five to forty bucks a spool, you know.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

And my kids

are making trinkets left and right. Although I have to say that, you know,

Yeah.

I have a couple nice things. I have a door stop my kid made and back scratcher is really nice, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's good stuff.

yeah. I made one, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I've made nothing nothing productive. all

you know, stuff that's not gonna help you in life at all. I did make a Boba Fett costume the one year, the one Halloween,

Nice.

head to toe. it was back in twenty twenty two BK before kids. So

Okay.

our little was born October twenty twenty three and really haven't dressed up for Halloween, obviously. But yeah, head

come on.

to toe and I gotta get back into it. But now that we have

My goal was make the Mandalorian one and have her be Baby Yoda, but she's too

Yeah.

big. So but I'm hoping next Halloween we can have our my little guy, you know, he'll be old enough to to be baby Yoda. So maybe I can do it then. So I have to look forward to.

Yeah, you got a you got a three D print

baby Yoda outfit for your kid, absolutely.

Yeah, definitely. So we can make the ears and everything. Hopefully he's a Star Wars fan like dad, but we'll see. That's true.

He's too young to object anyway. So for the next couple of years, he's he's gonna be a Star Wars fan for the next

couple of years, okay?

For the next eighteen years.

Brandon, the Republican state rep who resigned in your district voted no to prohibit the manufacturing of ghost guns, machine gun conversion devices, and voted against red flag laws, which aim to take away guns.

From potentially violent people in Pennsylvania. How do you feel about that, Brandon?

Yeah, I mean as a three D printer enthusiast, I had some requests like, can you make a three D print ghost gun? And I don't think that's that's safe. I don't think it's

something that's that I need to be a part of. So I want nothing to do with that. So but yeah, as for the legislation, I I think that's just bonkers.

Not surprising, so to speak, but I do think we've seen a lot of, you know, mass shootings here in the country in the last couple of months. It's nuts, but the only country in the world that has that many. So I don't want to add to that. So that's something I will never print and not vote for. So I wouldn't vote with that. So

yeah, no, I mean the most common

cause of death in America is for children is gun violence, right? And so if you can't do the minimum of the state rep to vote to protect children in Pennsylvania, probably shouldn't be a state rep. You know, find it find a different job.

I'm very happy that you would vote to protect children in Pennsylvania.

Brandon, data centers are being discussed

Mm.

all over the country right now, and Pennsylvania is no exception. What will you do as a state rep to address these centers?

Yeah, so right now there's really no regulation in intact right now in Pennsylvania. It's just so new, these data centers, they're popping up like weeds. mainly because it's the local municipalities who kinda have the final say and whether they can be built there or not. So that kinda

You know, that that makes it a little bit difficult. But like I said, I think some of the regulations I would be in favor of is there's a current one that allows a hundred and eighty-day pause for the municipalities to review the data centers, kind of halts their construction so they have more time to look at it and consider it, get public opinion. I I'm in favor of that. I will definitely be in favor of very strict environmental regulations as well after built. if they're built here, make sure they have their own grid, their own generator.

making sure they're not sucking up the water source for residents and of course make sure they're being built as far away as possible from any residential area. so I don't want to see any utility rate hikes go up because of that. And that's something that we'll also that I would be in favor of is you know strict penalties if they do cause any by environmental harm or prices to go up for residents who had no idea that was even causing their electricity to go up. So that's what I would be in favor for if if data centers do make a big comeback here in Pennsylvania.

No, it's a huge problem. And all the Democrats

Mm-hmm.

I've been interviewing have been telling me over and over again that Republicans in Harrisburg are doing nothing to address data centers. I mean, we have laws being passed in the state house to address data centers in Pennsylvania, but the Republican-controlled state senate doing nothing. Abs they're not they're not climbing over themselves to try and pass something that's viable in Pennsylvania in a bipartisan fashion. So that's why we need to elect you, expand our state house majority, flip the state senate, get the trifecta.

And we will pass bills to protect Pennsylvanians from these data centers because again, they're just gonna make the cost of living go up and we want to bring it down, right? Democratic values and and you know, keeping these data centers in check is part of our journey.

Brandon, what would you say

to someone who is disaffected with democracy?

You know, I get it. I get voter apathy. I really do. I think you have to be patient. and you also have to I tell people focus on the local level of government. That's where the change really starts. It doesn't start at

Mm. That's right.

the top. It doesn't you

but yeah I I I think it's people it's it's easy to get this disaffected. It really is, especially when you're watching mainstream media.

TV, I highly recommend you turn that off. They don't have your interests. They're corporate runs. So focus

Yes.

on local journalists, independent journalists, like you know, nothing gonna be above

Me?

me or below me, you pod you know, stuff like that. So you're doing a good job getting the word out, you're doing better than most mainstream media getting getting the word out, the message out. So

Try him in.

I turn to independent media. That's what I tell folks to to listen to and get out there and get involved.

I agree. You're not gonna find hope on mainstream media stations. Okay. It's rage baiting and it's despair. You're not gonna find it. But we have, as you said, we have so much power in our vote in Pennsylvania. And it just it's every election. Every election is the most important election. And we just have to show up and vote and we will see incremental change. And yes, I I totally agree that it is easy to fall into apathy based on what we see out there. But if you look around you.

There are so many helpers. There are people like you, Brandon, running for office. And and that is what we should pull us out of that apathy and get us back up working towards our goal together.

Brandon, what gives you hope?

we had a few young people come to our some of our campuses. We have a lot of young people on our team, on our campaign team alone. the fact that I'm talking young, I'm talking like seventeen, eighteen who who are already heavily involved in politics. That's how I was when I was seventeen, eighteen years old, high school, going to college. And I really didn't run along run into a lot of people who were who were like that.

over the past few years. But now I'm starting to see them getting heavily involved. that gives me hope. Seeing a younger generation kind of taking the torch 'cause I'm, you know, becoming an old man now. So I can't do it forever. So I I really like to see younger people who are getting involved in all the local campaigns I've been associating with across the county here. So I think, yeah, the next generation always gives me hope. And of course having, you know, a three-year-old and a soon-to-be newborn kind of gives me hope as well too for myself to to get up there and run and make their lives better. And I want them to be proud of their

father. So that's why I'm running. And I think it's something that's a lot of people will would look to. I think I give people a lot of hope here locally who were really really pulling for me to win and yeah that's what gives me hope is the the excitement and the enthusiasm that some of my supporters and voters out there have for this this campaign so it's very important to me.

You give me hope, Brandon. And I say this over and over and over again, you know, as as corny as it sounds, when I see people like you running for office in Pennsylvania, Democrats with democratic values, it's hard not to have hope. Because again, the mainstream media is not giving you hope. They're telling you that no one's coming to the rescue, but we are gonna come to the rescue for ourselves. We're gonna wake up, we're gonna go to work, we're gonna provide for our families the best we can, and we're going to elect people who are gonna make our lives easier.

And that's Democrats, right? So you make me very hopeful and I appreciate that you're running for this position because you're gonna give hope to people in your district as well.

Brandon, my last question for you is what are your plans to get you through these next few years? In America.

Ugh geez Louise.

man. let's let's see. Like well, like I said first, I do need to win. Once I win,

Mm-hmm.

I'll have a much clearer plan of what I want to do. But I do clearly obviously want to be I want to be a good legislator if I win. I wanna be able to pass laws that are meaningful, not just, you know, resolutions of let's name this blah blah blah after some. I wanna be able to make people's lives better.

And hopefully I'm there for five years or at least. we'll see. but yeah I think also too it'd be all around and just since I'm right now a young father, I think being a good father and husband is obviously number one on the list, of course. And if you fail at that, then really you're not gonna do

much better anywhere else in the next five years on any area of life. So I do see myself being still involved if I'm not successful in this industry with the community as I built so much, you know, foundation and good infrastructure so far, even on my last race. So I do see myself active activated in in the community and making it a better place, regardless if I'm in Harrisburg or

here in Cranberry Township as well as being, you know, trying to be father of the year and of course husband of the year. So the second one might be a little trickier, but we'll we'll see. So

You I appreciate that. I mean you're gonna lean into the work and be a and be a father and a husband. That totally makes sense. And I just want I picked

Mm-hmm.

up on something you said that if you don't win, which I really want you to win, but if you don't win, you're still gonna be involved in your community and help and and advance your democratic values. And you can always tell the people who are not performative, the people who are not just doing this for themselves, when they lose an election, they disappear. Those are not the pe that's when you find out who people really are.

If you don't there are people running for State House and State Senate who've run two or three times until they win because they really want to help their communities. And when they're not running for office, they're in their communities doing the work to make their communities better. So I appreciate that message and goddamn, I want you to win. But I appreciate that if you don't, you are still gonna be there for your community. And that is a true democratic value.

Brandon Dukes running for state house in a special election on August eighteenth. That's this August eighteenth. Now come in real close, people. Okay. Josh Shapiro won this district the first time he ran for governor. This is a flippable seat and it is wide open for the taking. And we need to expand our state house majority and protect our democratic values in Pennsylvania. Brandon, what is your website?

Dukesforpa.com. That's F O R P A.com.

there's a lot of ways to get involved and a lot of different ways to support this campaign and being a part of history and flipping it blue after thirty some years of Republican rule.

Absolutely. If you live in Adams Township, Calery, Cranberry Township, Evan City, Harmony, Jackson Township, Mars, Seven Fields, Valencia, or Zellian Opal, get off your ass and go to his website, Brandon Dukes, and you need to help him. Door knock, write postcards, make a donation. This is our time. I don't want to hear that your vote doesn't matter. James Malone flipped a seat that was Republican for over a hundred years. And this could be our moment where Brandon Dukes lives in District 12.

To expand our state house majority and pave the way to a trifecta. God, it just gives me goosebumps, a trifecta for the first time in over thirty years, because we have to get more shit done in Pennsylvania. Brandon, I wish I could vote for you, but I can't. But I'm gonna be cheering for you from the sidelines, getting the messaging out this August eighteenth. Let's flip a seat blue.

Let's do it.

Let's do it.

August eighteenth. And if you have a mail and ballot, turn it in.

As soon as

Turn it in.

possible. Yes, don't wait.

Well, thank you so much for joining me here on the Zeekly Podcast. Stay hopeful and get involved. And until next time, let's keep building a stronger Pennsylvania together.