In Philly, candidates face the crucial cheesesteak test

File-This April 7, 2016, file photo shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holding her Metrocard as she goes through the turnstile to enter the subway in the Bronx borough of New York. Competitive races have extended the primary calendars, requiring the candidates to have more local know-how. In New York City recently Ohio Gov. John Kasich took flack for eating pizza with a knife and fork. Clinton was mocked for struggling to use a Metrocard to ride the New York subway. And Bernie Sanders thought the subway still took tokens, which were phased out in 2003. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) File-This April 7, 2016, file photo shows Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holding her Metrocard as she goes through the turnstile to enter the subway in the Bronx borough of New York. Competitive races have extended the primary calendars, requiring the candidates to have more local know-how. In New York City recently Ohio Gov. John Kasich took flack for eating pizza with a knife and fork. Clinton was mocked for struggling to use a Metrocard to ride the New York subway. And Bernie Sanders thought the subway still took tokens, which were phased out in 2003. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

By Associated Press April 25, 2016 4 min read

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Five-point plans, engaging speeches and star endorsements are all important in a presidential campaign, but how well do candidates REALLY know the cities and towns where they’re wooing voters?

The supreme test in Philadelphia: ordering a cheesesteak.

Just ask Secretary of State John Kerry, who was roundly mocked in 2003 for passing up the more traditional Cheez Whiz on his cheesesteak for Swiss cheese.

“Don’t come into Philadelphia and try to cater favor with us and then order Swiss cheese, which no one does in Philadelphia,” Ed Rendell, former Pennsylvania governor and Philadelphia mayor, said. Hillary Clinton, he predicted, will make no such gaffe should she sample a cheesesteak as she campaigns in the state before the April 26 primary.

Bill Clinton “would always order a cheesesteak with onions and Cheese Whiz,” Rendell said. “That is the only way to order a cheesesteak.”