Fall 2015 meeting recap

The Fall meeting of Republican State Committee was held September 18-19 at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel.  The Friday afternoon meetings included sessions detailing the Frederick Douglass Inclusion Council and plans to reach out to minority voters and support minority candidates for office, as well as cultivating and identifying future candidates. We also heard an update from Andrew Patterson on the state of the Judicial races this fall.  The guest speaker at the dinner Friday night was Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, who talked about the challenges of winning an election as a Republican candidate in Massachusetts.
 
Saturday morning began with a breakfast meeting of the Southwest Caucus.  The Southwest Caucus unanimously voted to endorse Sen. Pat Toomey for United States Senator in next year's election.  Following the caucus meeting, the general meeting of the Republican State Committee was held.  Following reports by Senator Toomey, Congressman Tom Marino, Senator John Rafferty, and Representative Todd Stephens, several voice votes were held during new business.  State Committee voted to endorse Senator Pat Toomey for re-election next year.  State Committee also voted to approve the proposed bylaw changes to comply with the new RNC rules regarding selection of at-large delegates.

The next meeting of the Republican State Committee will be held at the Hotel Hershey on January 15-16, 2016.

Fall 2015 Meeting

After a summer hiatus, Republican State Committee activities are starting back up again as we gear up for the fall election campaign.  Our next meeting will be held on Friday September 18th and Saturday September 19th at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel.  More information may also be obtained on the website for the fall meeting at http://www.pagop.org/Fall

The PA GOP is currently accepting internship applications for the fall of 2015 and the spring and summer of 2016.  RCAC is also currently accepting applications for an internship position this fall.  If you know of any students who have an interest in campaign politics, and would be interested in getting involved at our Harrisburg headquarters, County party, or at one of our field offices, please let us know.

Northeast Republican Leadership Conference

 

I feel very fortunate that I was able to attend the much publicized Northeast Republican Leadership Conference in Philadelphia that wrapped up June 20th.  There were over 600 attendees from 20 states, but I was one of only a few State Committee people from Southwestern Western Pennsylvania who were able to make the journey this year.  Our State Committee Chairman, Rob Gleason explained that the Northeast Conference was being held in Pennsylvania this year because we will be a battleground state in 2016.  No Democrat has ever become President of the United States without carrying Pennsylvania. Two great highlights of the conference for me were meeting and talking with United States Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, and then, at the invitation of our National Committee Woman Christine Toretti, leading the Pledge of Allegiance just prior to the keynote address from Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

The Conference speakers included former New York Governor George Pataki, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Republican National Committee Co-Chair Sharon Day, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, U.S. Congressman Steve King,  Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush Karl Rove, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

In addition to these great speakers, the conference offered a number of policy and  training sessions led by expert panels.  Topics covered included American Foreign Policy and Terrorism, Connecting Social Medial and Local Candidates, How Big Data is Revolutionizing Politics, and Obamacare, HillaryCare, and Winning Healthcare Reform.

A presidential straw poll was conducted throughout the event, and yes, credentials were required to cast your ballot.  The top five vote-getters were lead by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who won the straw poll with 25.3 percent of the vote.  Governor Chris Christie won 11.6 percent taking second place. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished third with 11 percent. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush tied with 9.6 percent.

Please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions about the conference.

Summer Republican conference

The Northeast Republican Leadership Conference will be held on June 18-20, 2015 at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel.  All of the Presidential candidates have been invited to speak.  More information about the conference can be found online at http://www.2015leadership.gop

Southwest Caucus website

When we campaigned for Republican State Committee, one of the things we promised to do was to use technology to better share information and events with Republicans in our area.  At Chairman Mike Baker's suggestion, Nate Locklin created a website for the Southwest Caucus, located at http://www.pagopswc.org

This website will be used to post announcements and information about Republican events happening in southwestern Pennsylvania.  We also have a Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/PAGOPSWC) and Twitter feed (http://www.twitter.com/PAGOPSWC) available for those of you who are on those networks.  Please share these links with your committee members and encourage them to like/follow the caucus online.

Winter State Committee meeting recap

The Winter meeting of the Republican State Committee was held in Harrisburg, PA on January 30-31st.

The main item of business during the general meeting of the Party on Saturday was voting on endorsements for the upcoming judicial elections this year.  The first vote was on whether or not to endorse.  The endorsement vote passed by a vote of 238 to 90.  Next, a roll call vote was held on the endorsement of candidates for Supreme Court.  The results of the vote were as follows:
Mike George, 291 votes
Judy Olson, 274
Anne Covey, 258
Cheryl Allen, 71
Rebecca Warren, 39

Your State Committee members all supported Judy Olson, Anne Covey, and Mike George.  The next endorsement vote was for Superior Court.  Emil Giordano received the endorsement with 242 votes to Paul Panepinto's 86 votes.  The only candidate to seek endorsement for Commonwealth Court was Paul Lalley.  We are looking forward working hard to elect Republican candidates to these offices this fall.  More information about these candidates is available online at
http://www.pagop.org/2015/02/covey-george-olson-lead-pa-gop-judicial-ticket/

The next meeting of the Republican State Committee will be held at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey September 18-19.

Winter 2015 Meeting

The next meeting of Pennsylvania's Republican State Committee will be held on January 30th and 31st in Harrisburg, PA.  Breakout sessions and committee meetings will be held on Friday afternoon, and the Southwest Caucus meeting and General Meeting of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania will be held Saturday morning.

This morning, Saturday January 17th, the Southwest Caucus met at the Doubletree hotel in Marshall Township to meet with the candidates for Supreme Court (3 seats open), Superior Court (1 seat open), and Commonwealth Court (1 seat open).  The Caucus also held a non-binding straw poll.  The results of the poll were as follows:

Supreme Court - 3 Seats Open (Votes)
1. Judy Olson (46)
2. Anne Covey (35)
3. Michael A. George (29)
4. Cheryl Lynn Allen (15)
5. Renee Cohn Jubelirer (12)
6. (tie) Paul Panepinto (9)
6. (tie) Rebecca Warren (9)
8. (tie) John T. Bender (1)
8. (tie) Correale F. Stevens (1)
10. Julia K. Hearthway (0)

Superior Court - 1 Seat Open (Votes)
1. Melissa Hart (24)
2. Emil Giordano (18)
3. Douglas G. Reichley (9)
4. Bradley K. Moss​ (3)

Commonwealth Court - 1 Seat Open (Votes)
1. Paul N. Lalley (43)
2. Scot R. Withers (12)