The former state director of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign has withdrawn from the Pennsylvania Republican Party chairmanship race, clearing the way for the state senator and former chairman of the Cumberland County Republican Party to take the reins next year – and showing the senator: chooses Dave’s weight McCormick in the state party.
Backed by a Bucks County venture capitalist, longtime Trump ally Ted Christian announced earlier this month that he would challenge Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas to lead the state party. Tabas ultimately announced that he would not seek re-election, and leading Republicans – led by McCormick — issued a court-wide presser supporting the candidacy of state Sen. Greg Rothman (R., Cumberland) for the position.
However, Christian’s public candidacy for party chairman was short-lived. On Thursday, he announced in a statement that he would not pursue his candidacy for state party chairman and would now support Rothman for the position.
“As a donor, grassroots activist, senior strategist and candidate for state chairman, I always put our party first,” Christian said in a statement. “With this in mind, I have decided that I will not continue to run for chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.
“I will support my friend Greg Rothman and look forward to supporting the party in new ways in the future,” Christian added. He could not be reached for further comment Thursday.
Immediately after Tabas announced he would not seek re-election as party chairman at the February GOP reorganization meeting, support for Rothman poured in. Most importantly, Rothman secured the support of McCormick, who unseated Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey in November’s red wave. choice.
Meanwhile, Christian has won the support of several early Trump supporters, including two Republican National Committee delegates and electors who cast their votes for Trump earlier this week: Val Biancaniello and Curt Coccodrilli. Christian previously headed the New Jersey Republican Party’s state committee, served as state director for Trump’s 2016 campaign, and served on Trump’s first transition team and worked on his 2020 campaign as a senior adviser.
By endorsing Rothman over Christian, state GOP leaders chose someone more connected to state-level politics rather than a longtime Trump loyalist backed by venture capital because Trump is term-limited after his inauguration next month. Rothman endorsed Ron DeSantis over Trump in the 2024 presidential primaries and organized a fundraiser for him in Pennsylvania. However, he recently aligned himself with Trump by running ads on X featuring photos of Rothman and his family with the president-elect.
Paul Martino, a Bucks County venture capitalist who financed a 2021 group of mostly conservative suburban school board members and who contributed $100,000 to Christian’s bid for party chairman, said in a statement that he was disappointed by the news and he still believes that Christian “is the right guy for the job.”
“It’s clear who’s leading the GOP in Pennsylvania right now — and it’s Dave McCormick,” Martino added.
“He made his choice and the game went as planned,” Martino added. “I hope this marks the beginning of a new chapter of our party’s strong leadership in the PA, because change was certainly needed.”
McCormick for his part published in October thank Christian for speaking out and leading the party and describe him as a “strong leader of the conservative movement.”
Rothman, also on Xhe said in response to his statement. Christian is a “leader and patriot.” We could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
“I am grateful for his support and look forward to his advice and help in transforming PA into a sustainable RED state,” Rothman added.
Last week, Rothman said he has been involved in GOP politics for 40 years, dating back to childhood. The state senator and real estate broker served 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, previously led the Cumberland County GOP and chaired the state Game and Fisheries Committee in the state Senate.
Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.
