Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman Greg Rothman is no stranger to controversy. But with Democrats inching close to their most triumphant midterm election in the Commonwealth since 1986, the GOP leader from the Harrisburg suburbs in Cumberland County is on the hot seat like never before.
The latest publicly available polling indicates Democrats are a good bet to accomplish something they haven’t managed in the Keystone State for four decades: winning the governor’s mansion and both chambers of the General Assembly, along with a majority of the Commonwealth’s U.S. House delegation.
While Rothman—who is a state senator and real estate magnate—isn’t responsible for inflation, the Iran War, or other factors that have driven his party’s popularity into the dumps, grassroots Republicans have ample cause for condemning his brief tenure as party chief.
Exhibit A is fundraising. Governor Josh Shapiro has outraised GOP challenger Stacy Garrity by a staggering nine-to-one ratio. Rothman, meanwhile, spent the spring coordinating a blistering assault upon Republicans who were waging primary challenges to three of his state senate colleagues.
Rothman also drew ire in April by attempting to soften Republicans to embracing woke U.S. Senator John Fetterman—provided Fetterman switches his registration from Democrat to Republican. Rothman told The Center Square: “I believe in the Ronald Reagan idea that if you’re 20 percent with me, you’re 100 percent friend.”
In mangling the Great Communicator’s 80/20 rule (which holds that a friend is someone who’s with you 80% of the time), Rothman infuriated socially conservative Republicans staunchly opposed to Fetterman’s radically pro-abortion, pro-transgenderism, pro-marijuana legalization ideology.
Rothman feting Fetterman is unsurprising to some of his longtime observers, including a former county GOP chairman who told NEI, “Greg’s always been on both sides, from his close personal and business relationship with Steve Reed to his sketchy pardon from Ed Rendell.”
Reed was a long-serving Democrat mayor of Harrisburg who spearheaded taxpayer-funded economic redevelopment of distressed properties in the city’s business district. He and Rothman were thick as thieves before Reed pleaded guilty to corruption charges. Democrat Governor Ed Rendell, days before leaving office in 2011, pardoned Rothman for a 1991 conviction of conspiracy to commit forgery.
Control of both the federal and Pennsylvania House of Representatives just happens to hinge on races in Rothman’s backyard. Republican Congressman Scott Perry, who represents York and Cumberland Counties, is in the fight of his political life against former WGAL-TV anchor Janelle Stelson, whom he barely defeated two years ago.
In the 88th state House district, Republican Jeff Clark, a retired cop, is battling Democrat Sara Agerton, a Mechanicsburg councilwoman. Democrats are bullish on both Stelson and Agerton as grumblings circulate within the Cumberland County GOP that Rothman not only is indifferent about the outcomes of these races, but that some of his actions are undermining the Cumberland County state house delegation.
We spoke to State Rep. Barb Gleim (R) about the controversies surrounding Rothman, asking her if his efforts as Republican chairman of the state party hurt or helped her ongoing reelection campaign.
Rep. Gleim said that Rothman had his plate full running for both the chairmanship and his state senate seat.
“He’s not really helping much. He’s been doing things that hurt me, said Rep. Gleim. “Only been doing things that hurt me.”
Rep. Gleim pointed to a campaign mailer distributed by the non-partisan CV Cures that attacks her while promoting her Democratic opponent in the race.
The group is run by Mike O’Brien, a close associate to Rothman. CV Cures has donated $500 to Rothman’s reelection campaign.
Adding fuel to his critics’ fire, Rothman has been devoting an inordinate amount of time and energy to his own re-election campaign for the State Senate, rather than doing his job of running the PA GOP. They also complain that Rothman became a lightning rod on a red-hot valence issue shaping the outcome of several races that will decide the balance of power in Harrisburg: data centers.
Last year, Rothman the real estate tycoon profited handsomely on a $30 million sale of property in Cumberland County to a developer building a hyper-scale data center. A month later, Rothman the Senator advocated a bill to expedite permitting for data centers while preventing municipalities from regulating data centers more aggressively than other commercial enterprises.
Rothman told Spotlight PA the legislation was unrelated to his involvement in land deal. Whether that’s true or not, it’s clear that Rothman’s chairmanship will live in infamy as a cautionary tale against a legislator being the party’s chairman.
Rothman could not be reached for comment.
