Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Lawrence Tabas, who has led the party since 2019, will not seek re-election immediately after his party secured huge victories on the ballot last month.
His departure sets up a contentious race for party chairman between state Sen. Greg Rothman (R, Cumberland) and Ted Christian, a former Trump staffer and political strategist who announced his candidacy for the position last weekend. After Tabas’ announcement on Friday, many top party leaders endorsed Rothman to succeed him.
On Thursday evening, Tabas announced to his colleagues in a call with the Republican Party that he would not seek re-election to another term as party chairman because the party is scheduled to reorganize in early 2025.
“My goal has always been to simply achieve what I wanted, strengthen the party, deal with voter registration issues and get back to normal life,” Tabas said in an interview.
Tabas was elected during a period of turmoil in the party after its former chairman had to resign following sexual harassment allegations. He also inherited an organization that he believed was nearly $1 million in debt.
He goes away high. The party won a huge victory, its debts were paid off, and the GOP also reduced the registration gap to approximately 300,000. voters, the lowest level in 52 years.
Tabas has said he will support the race, but on Friday he would not say who he would support. He said he made the decision himself, without the influence of others who wanted to take over his job.
“It’s a hard job, very hard, and … I’ve always felt that the person in those roles is someone who shouldn’t have any personal goals,” Tabas said.
Christian, a Bucks County resident who served as President-elect Donald Trump’s state director in 2016, announced his intention to run for the position last week during the Pennsylvania Society’s annual retreat to the state’s political elite in New York.
» READ MORE: A former Trump adviser — backed by a Bucks County venture capitalist — says he will run for chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party
But immediately after Tabas’ statement to GOP insiders, leading Republicans launched a full-court public presser in support of Rothman, a real estate broker who served in the state Senate for two years and in the House of Representatives for seven years.
“I believe in the Republican Party and I want to build on the successes we just had in this election,” Rothman, 58, said Friday in a brief telephone interview.
Key GOP officials supporting Rothman include U.S. Sen.-elect Dave McCormick, U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, former Senate candidate Sean Parnell and many of his colleagues in the state General Assembly. McCormick said in a statement that the next party chairman is extremely essential and state committee members should choose Rothman, whom he described as having “the political knowledge and relationships to sustain the progress we have made this cycle.”
“I believe that State Senator Greg Rothman would be an excellent chairman to lead us forward,” McCormick wrote.
As Pennsylvania’s highest-ranking Republican, McCormick’s election carries enormous significance.
“There are two very well-qualified people who could lead the party, and for Sen. McCormick to signal who he thinks can lead the party for the next four years sends a very strong signal,” said Philadelphia Republican Party Chairman Vince Fenerty, who said he has not decided how he will vote.
Christian, who could not immediately be reached for comment, appeared to be still running despite the GOP establishment’s sturdy support for Rothman.
“That’s why we love democracy. We welcome others in the race, but we plan to win,” said Paul Martino, a Bucks County venture capitalist who is financially supporting Christian’s campaign for party chairman.
Christian, a former director of the New Jersey Republican State Committee, served as state director for Trump’s 2016 campaign and also served on Trump’s first transition team and worked on his 2020 campaign as a senior adviser.
By endorsing Rothman, state GOP leaders are choosing someone more connected to state-level politics over 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, Rothman also appears to agree with the president-elect and recently posted a photo with his family and Trump on X. Rothman was also one of 64 Republican lawmakers in 2020 who signed a letter calling on Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to defy the state’s voters and a denial of the 2020 election results when Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
Rothman also has the support of Meuser, a sturdy Trump ally who has said he is considering running for governor in 2026.
Rothman said he has been involved in GOP politics for 40 years, dating back to his childhood, and wants to lend a hand the party continue to build on its recent successes. The south-central Pennsylvania native served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for 10 years, previously led the Cumberland County GOP and chaired the state Senate Game and Fisheries Committee.
More than three decades ago, in 1991, Rothman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit forgery through a falsely attributed political mailer. The conviction was later expunged, and in 2011, former Gov. Ed Rendell granted Rothman a pardon.
He also serves as a deputy to the state Senate Republican Campaign Committee, which flipped a key seat in Northeast Philadelphia in last month’s election, sending a Republican to represent part of the city in the state Senate for the first time in 20 years.
His name has also been floated as a candidate for governor in 2026 against Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. Rothman said he won’t run for governor if elected party chairman, but plans to remain in the state Senate.
Rothman has said that if elected to succeed Tabas, he wants to augment the number of registered GOP voters statewide.
“The idea is to continue to promote the party so that it is inclusive and that we fight for every vote,” Rothman added.
