| Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Robert Gleason |
| House leader | Sam Smith (Speaker) Mike Turzai (Majority Leader) |
| Senate leader | Joe Scarnati (President pro tempore) Dominic Pileggi (Majority Leader) |
| Founded | 1854 |
| Headquarters |
112 State Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101-1024 |
| Ideology | American conservatism Fiscal conservatism Economic liberalism |
| National affiliation | Republican Party |
| Unofficial colors | Red |
| Seats in the US Senate |
1 / 2
|
| Seats in the US House |
12 / 19
|
| Seats in the PA Senate |
29 / 50
|
| Seats in the PA House |
112 / 203
|
| Website | |
| pagop.org | |
The Republican Party of Pennsylvania is based in Harrisburg in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is affiliated with the Republican Party of the United States.[1]
Contents |
The party was founded on November 27, 1854, in Towanda (Bradford County) by former Congressman David Wilmot. Wilmot invited a small group of friends and political leaders to the organization's first meeting, which took place in his home. Among the attendees were Senator Simon Cameron, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Colonel Alexander McClure and future Governor Andrew Curtin. Wilmot convinced the group to form local Republican Clubs in their home counties. George Bloom made the Republican Party a statewide organization in 1959. He had the headquarters based in Harrisburg, where it remains to this day.[1]
Pennsylvania was dominated politically by the Democratic Party until around 1856. This is at least partially attributed to the desire of many in the state to promote its growing industries by raising taxes. From the period immediately preceding the Civil until the mid-1930's, political dominance in the state largely rested with the Republican Party. During this time, Republican gubernatorial administrations outnumbered Democratic ones by a margin of 16 to two. Republican dominance was ended by the growing influence of labor and urbanization, and the implimentation of the New Deal.[2]
The first Republican governor was elected in 1861, and there was a Republican governor until 1883. The governorship alternated between Democrat and Republican every term until 1895. From 1895 until 1935, the GOP held an unbroken grip on the governor's office. Democrat George Howard Earle held the governorship for one term, from 1935 to 1939, afterwhich time Republicans held the governorship until the 1954 election of state senator George Leader. Democrats continued to hold the governorship into 1963, following the 1958 election of Pittsburgh Mayor David Lawrence to succeed Leader.[3]
Republicans Bill Scranton and Ray Shafer followed Lawrence. In 1968, state law was changed to allow governors to run for a second four-year term. However, in the 1970 election (the first which allowed the winner the opportunity to run for a second term), Democrat Milton Shapp defeated Shafer's Lieutenant Governor, Ray Broderick. Shapp was re-elected over GOP nominee Drew Lewis in 1974[4].
Since Shapp's election, no governor has lost his bid for re-election, and partisan control of the governorship has alternated between Democratic and Republican.[4]
After Democrat Jimmy Carter’s victory in 1976 (in which he carried the state), Pennsylvania was carried by the Republican presidential nominee in three consecutive elections. In 1980, Ronald Reagan won 49.6% of the popular vote and Carter received 42.5%. In 1984 Reagan acquired 53% of the votes. In 1988 George Bush won with 50.7% of the popular vote against Michael Dukakis who obtained 48.4%. In 1992, Pennsylvania was carried by Democrat Bill Clinton, who received 45.1% of the popular vote and Republican Bush got 36.1%. In 1996 Clinton again carried the state with 49.2% of the vote against Bob Dole's 40%. Al Gore carried the state with 50.6% of the vote in 2000 and Bush only received 46.4%. Democrat John Kerry became the fourth straight Democratic presidential nominee to carry the state in 2004 receiving 51% and Bush obtained 48.3% of the votes.[4]
Republicans held both US Senate seats from 1968 to 1991. In 1991, after the death of Senator John Heinz, a special election was held. In the election, former Kennedy administration official and Democrat Harris Wofford defeated former governor Dick Thornburgh, who resigned as President Bush's Attorney General to run in the election. The Republican defeat was considered to be a major upset. Wofford went on to be defeated in his bid for a full six year term in 1994 by Congressman Rick Santorum. Republicans would hold both of Pennsylvania's Senate seats until Santorum was defeated in his bid for a third term in 2006.[2]
In 1992, Democrats had the majorities in both houses of the General Assembly for the first time since 1978.[2] Following the 1994 state and federal elections, Republicans regained the majority in both houses of the General Assembly, as well as a majority of the state's Congressional seats.[5]
In 1998, 42% of Pennsylvania’s registered voters were Republican, 48% were Democrats, and the other 9% were either unaffiliated or with other parties.[5]
By 2003, there were 12 Republicans and seven Democrats in the state's U.S. House delegation, as well as 29 Republicans and 21 Democrats in the state Senate, and 109 Republicans and 94 Democrats in the state House.[5]
Two statewide elections took place in 2006. In the U.S. Senate race, State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr., son of former Governor Bob Casey, Sr., won nearly 59% of the vote, defeating incumbent Republican Rick Santorum. Santorum's margin of defeat was 18 points--the largest for an incumbent Republican Senator in state history. Casey also became the first Democrat elected to a full Senate term from Pennsylvania since Joseph Clark was re-elected in 1962. In the gubernatorial election, incumbent Democratic Governor Ed Rendell won a comfortable re-election over Republican challenger Lynn Swann. Rendell took 60% of the votes cast, while Swann took the remaining 40%.[4]
Democrats also retook the majority in the State House this year, though the balance-of-power in the State Senate remained the same[4].
In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama won Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes with a total of about 3.2 million votes (54.7%). The Republican nominee, John McCain, won about 2.7 million votes (44.3%).[6]
There were also three other statewide elections that year. Republican State Attorney General Tom Corbett was re-elected with 52.4% of the vote, defeating Democrat John Morganelli. Republicans have held the office of Attorney General since it became an elected one in 1980. The State Auditor General, Democrat Jack Wagner, was re-elected with 59% of the vote, while Democrat Rob McCord was elected State Treasurer with 55% of the vote.[6]
There were three major statewide judicial contests in 2009. In the election for Justice of the State Supreme Court, Republican Joan Orie Melvin garnered about 900,000 votes (53.2%), defeating Democrat Jack Panella, who garnered about 800,000 votes (46.8%).[6]
The other two elections were for the state's two intermediate appellate courts. In the election for four judges to the State Superior Court, there were nine candidates. Of the winners, three were Republicans and one Democrat. Additionally, in the election for two judges to the Commonwealth Court, Republicans Patricia McCullough and Kevin Broboson came-out on top of a four-candidate field.[6]
There were two statewide elections held in Pennsylvania in 2010. In the election for United States Senate, Republican nominee Pat Toomey garnered about 2.2 million votes (51%), defeating Democrat Joe Sestak, who garnered about 1.9 million votes (49%). Sestak had defeated incumbent Senator Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary after Specter, who had been a Republican since his election to the Senate in 1980, switched his partisan affiliation to Democratic. Specter's partisan defection had briefly given Democrats control of both of Pennsylvania's Senate seats for the first time since before the Civil War. In the gubernatorial election, Tom Corbett garnered about 2.1 million votes (54.5%), defeating Democrat Dan Onorato, who garnered about 1.8 million votes (45.5%).[6]
Republicans also retook the majority in both the State Senate and the State House, which were both caputred by Democrats in 2006.[6]
Republicans in Pennsylvania are currently discussing a change to the way in which the state's votes in the Electoral College are allocated. Some want to eliminate the current "winner take all" system in which all electoral votes go to the candidate who wins the most popular votes, and replace it with one in which electoral votes are apportioned to each candidate based on the popular vote within each congressional district. This system would give 18 of the state's 20 electoral votes (which it is slated to have following the 2010 Census, and would affect the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections) to the winner of each congressional district, while the other two votes would go to the winner of the state's aggregate popular vote. If this change had affected the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama would have received 11 of the state's 21 electoral votes (which it had at time based on the 2000 Census), even though he won the state by a 10-point margin.[7]
There are also some State Senators, of both parties, who want to change the electoral college vote apportionment process to a proportional one based on the popular vote. Supporters assert that such a system would allow each voter and region of the state to decide which candidate is best, and electoral college votes would be apportioned accordingly.[8]
The Pennsylvania Republican Party controls three of the five statewide offices and holds a majority in both the Pennsylvania State Senate and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Republicans also hold one of the state's U.S. Senate seats and 12 of the state's 19 House seats.[1]
Most members are elected every two years in the Republican primary election by county. Each county party chairman is a state committee member by virtue of office.
The breakdown of members per county, along with caucus of county is as follows:[1]
| County | Members |
| Adams | 3 |
| Allegheny | 21 |
| Armstrong | 3 |
| Beaver | 4 |
| Bedford | 3 |
| Berks | 9 |
| Blair | 4 |
| Bradford | 3 |
| Bucks | 18 |
| Butler | 6 |
| Cambria | 3 |
| Cameron | 2 |
| Carbon | 2 |
| Clarion | 2 |
| Centre | 4 |
| Chester | 15 |
| Clearfield | 3 |
| Clinton | 2 |
| Columbia | 3 |
| Crawford | 3 |
| Cumberland | 8 |
| Dauphin | 8 |
| Delaware | 20 |
| Elk | 2 |
| Erie | 7 |
| Fayette | 3 |
| Forest | 2 |
| Franklin | 5 |
| Fulton | 2 |
| Greene | 2 |
| Huntingdon | 3 |
| Indiana | 3 |
| Jefferson | 2 |
| Juniata | 2 |
| Lackawanna | 4 |
| Lancaster | 16 |
| Lawrence | 3 |
| Lebanon | 4 |
| Lehigh | 8 |
| Luzerne | 7 |
| Lycoming | 5 |
| McKean | 3 |
| Mercer | 3 |
| Mifflin | 2 |
| Monroe | 4 |
| Montgomery | 24 |
| Montour | 2 |
| Northampton | 7 |
| Northumberland | 3 |
| Perry | 3 |
| Philadelphia | 16 |
| Pike | 3 |
| Potter | 2 |
| Schuylkill | 5 |
| Snyder | 2 |
| Somerset | 3 |
| Sullivan | 2 |
| Susquehanna | 3 |
| Tioga | 3 |
| Union | 2 |
| Venango | 3 |
| Warren | 2 |
| Washington | 4 |
| Wayne | 3 |
| Westmoreland | 8 |
| Wyoming | 2 |
| York | 12 |