A top Republican Party leader in Pennsylvania stepped down Tuesday amid allegations that he sexually harassed a colleague, leaving questions about the state GOP’s ability to remain unified ahead of the 2020 presidential race.
Val DiGiorgio resigned as Pennsylvania’s Republican Party chairman after a report showed that he sent graphic text messages to Rina Goldstein, a former candidate for Philadelphia City Council.
DiGiorgio denies sending the messages and said that he plans on defending himself.
Scandal in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is considered a key battleground state in next year’s presidential election. Capturing a majority in the swing state was a major victory for now-President Donald Trump in 2016 — one that he may need to repeat if he plans to remain in the White House.
But while some political pundits believe that the DiGiorgio scandal will hurt the state’s Republican Party, they don’t think it will affect the outcome of the presidential race. Former Congressman Lou Barletta, an outspoken Trump supporter who served Pennsylvania’s 11th congressional district, doesn’t think that DiGiorgio will slow down the Trump campaign.
“Obviously the party is bigger than any one person,” he said. “This party cannot be divided. It has to stay united. It has to come together.”
New blood
As one of the first Republican lawmakers to endorse President Trump in 2016, Barletta could help galvanize the state’s conservatives ahead of the next presidential race. Party members are already mentioning the former congressman’s name as a possible replacement for DiGiorgio, though Barletta has said he’s not planning to pursue the role.
“I had supporters call me up asking me to consider it,” Barletta said. “I am not campaigning for chair of the party. We have many very qualified people who are campaigning who will make great chairs.”
Other observers warn that any disunity among Pennsylvania Republicans could be costly in 2020. Political science professor Dave Sosar said that Republicans will have to make haste if they wish to recover from the scandal.
“You can’t lose time now,” Sosar said. “You’ve got to have everything in place. You got to get started. I know we are a year and a half out, but you really got to get things moving.”
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Democratic Party leaders said that their political rivals will recover before election season begins. However, they noted the recent gains among Pennsylvania Democrats and predicted that the state will turn blue in 2020.
Indeed, thanks in part to redistricting in 2018, Republicans will face an uphill battle to repeat their 2016 election victory. Distractions such as the DiGiorgio scandal are definitely not helping.
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