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Comfort Exits PAGOP Chair Race, Clearing Path for Tabas

It’s been a tumultuous two and a half weeks in the Pennsylvania GOP, but the intra-party fighting to lead the state committee appears to have come to an end. 

In a joint statement released by the Pennsylvania Republican Party, Acting Chair Bernie Comfort withdrew her bid for the race for Chair, making way for former state GOP counsel Lawrence Tabas to complete the term of former Chair Val DiGiorgio. 

DiGiorgio stepped down from his position as Chair on June 25 after the Philadelphia Inquirer released a story of him exchanging sexually charged messages and an “explicit photo” with a GOP Philadelphia City Council hopeful.  

The press release states that Tabas will take over as Chair of the Pennsylvania GOP, while Comfort will remain in her role as Vice Chair and will be appointed by the Trump 2020 campaign to lead as the Campaign Chair in Pennsylvania, a role that former Reps. Lou Barletta (R-Luzerne) and Tom Marino (R-Lycoming) shared in 2016. 

This joint statement was released less than 24 hours from a Philadelphia Inquirer story detailing a woman accusing Comfort of ignoring sexual harassment claims from women in the party made towards DiGiorgio. 

“When this race for PA GOP Chair unexpectedly began just a few short weeks ago, each of us entered with the same goals in mind, unifying and strengthening our Party and supporting President Trump’s re-election efforts in the Commonwealth,” Comfort and Tabas said in the written release. “It has become clear that each of our respective campaigns had a great deal of support. Therefore, we are joining together to form a unified team.”

Allies to President Donald Trump, including the President’s son and multiple 2020 campaign officials, backed the campaign of Comfort in recent weeks, while longtime party stalwarts like former PAGOP Chair Rob Gleason supported Tabas’s bid. 

Trump weighed in on Twitter calling the two a “great team,” while stating, “We must have, & do, great UNITY in PA!”. 

Sources tell PoliticsPA that insiders on both sides were predicting a Tabas victory in a contested vote. 

The Pennsylvania GOP confirmed that the vote for Chair is still set for tomorrow in Hershey.

10 Responses

    1. Exactly! So let’s break it down. Several people say they reported harassment to Bernie and she did nothing. One, a YR who was brave enough to give her name to the press. With this deal, Bernie gets to keep current job as Vice Chair AND is rewarded as Chair of Trump 2020?! Disgusting.

      1. Trump2020?-

        You think being Chair of Trump’s PA campaign is a REWARD?

        That job is one notch below working for a mob-boss and have the task of starting his car in the morning.

  1. I hope Ted Christian, who sold his soul to the devil, goes away for good. His true colors really showed and people are not happy with him, including his own wife. He has no integrity or character. He took the bait and the money for his own benefit….and LOST! Good bye Ted, your career is over. Is Asher still giving your PAC $100k?

  2. Of course she did. She had no chance at winning. Even though Asher called people and promised them money to vote for Comfort. The funny thing is you still have people, like Poprik and Cullen from Bucks trying to bully their people to vote for Comfort. Tabas will do a good job for the party and hopefully the corruption stops. Can’t wait to see who is on his team. As far as the Val lovers go, it’s game over folks. There’s a new sheriff on town and it sure as hell isn’t Bunny Welsh!! Ha ha ha

  3. Bernie should step away totally from the Vice Chair job. That article in the Philly Inquirer was not good for her. Multiple sources not only one. If hard evidence of calls and complaints made to her ever come forward, the PR for the Rep Party and POTUS in PA will be significant. Not sure this deal of keeping her any part of things was so smart. Plus what record of campaign success does she have? Lots of lost statewide races under her tenure. Now she’s going to run Trump 2020? I get the idea of a woman but a woman with that press and record is not the right woman.

  4. The worst of both worlds for Trump.

    He might as well not even bother putting his name on the ballot (because it’s going to hurt the GOP down-ticket candidates too).

    “When this race for PA GOP Chair unexpectedly began just a few short weeks ago….” neither of us knew that Val’s dick pics were going to create this terrible opportunity to be at the forefront of Trump’s and the PA GOP’s 2020 failures.

  5. It is apparent the Trump offensive did not have the votes. Even with all that firepower, they could not get it done. A real loss for Team Trump probably a preview of what is to come. The issue that were facing Bernie are still there and if true are just a tick away from a bomb. Hopefully, Lawrence can get our superior court judges elected and show the party still has a pulse.

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