Chairman's Post-Election Message
Dear Radnor Republicans and Friends:
The election results on Tuesday were a disappointment to local Republicans.
“You get the government you vote for,” and across Radnor and southeastern PA, voters will now be represented at the state and federal levels by politicians that have lurched to the left. More government, more taxes, less liberty.
Aside from the losses in the Pennsylvania gubernatorial and Senate races, Radnor’s
Pearl Kim was unable to overcome a significant registration and fundraising disadvantage in the newly formed 5
th Congressional District, losing to Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon. Scanlon was very well funded by Philadelphia unions and law firms. She is a leftist. Despite Pearl’s crossover appeal for her dedication to crime victims and human trafficking prosecution, and the fact that she would have been the first Korean-American in the Pennsylvania delegation, it wasn’t enough, and Pearl lost 4,500 to 7,900 in Radnor, and 91,000 to 147,000 district-wide.
Democrats spent more than $1 million to defeat our competent, hardworking 165
th State Representative
Alex Charlton, who was running for his second term. The PA 165
th includes half of the Radnor precincts, along with a large section of Delaware County. Charlton’s race was much closer, and, as of this writing, he is behind Democrat rookie Jennifer O’Mara by fewer than 200 votes, in a race where over 30,000 were cast. But, as a matter of transparency, it’s worth noting that Charlton did worse in Radnor than he did elsewhere in the county, losing here 2,700 to 4,600, compared with 15,600 to 15,800 district wide.
Similarly,
Baltazar Rubio lost to our seemingly lifetime State Representative in the PA 166
th, which covers the remainder of Radnor, Democrat Greg Vitali. Vitali, despite his dismal record, has a huge registration advantage and defeated Rubio 3,500 to 1,600 in Radnor, and 18,100 to 7,800 district-wide.
It’s clear that here in Radnor, we are a textbook “suburban district,” where the Democrats have a sizable registration and motivation advantage. The truth is that in Radnor, the Democrat electorate continues to be far more energized than are the Republicans. They have organized, outside help, and a lot of union, trial lawyer, and other outside money flooding in. To their credit, they’ve made good use of it.
Pearl, Alex and Baltazar are great candidates, each far more competent, conservative and accomplished than their opponents. However, the Democrats’ advantage in registration, funding and motivation were decisive in this election.
We have an opportunity in 2019, in our local election for school board and township board of commissioners, to get good, competent, Republicans elected to make a difference in Radnor.
To do this, we need not just great candidates but also more people to help build our local Republican organization by taking on well-defined volunteer roles. Are you willing to pitch in? If so, please share your contact information with us at
volunteer@RadnorGOP.org.
We also know that there is a lot that we’re missing. Would you tell us what that is?
Please, share your feedback with us at
feedback@RadnorGOP.org
about what you think we’re doing right or wrong, what you think we should be doing differently, and how we can get more Radnor voters interested in Republican candidates and energized about future elections.
Our local party is committed to excellent local governance, delivered through competent officials and volunteers of good character and conservative values. Please join us as we pursue life, liberty and happiness in our wonderful community.
With appreciation and respect,
Howard Gartland
Chairman
Radnor Republican Committee
