HARRISBURG, Pa. — Two months after Republican Party of Pennsylvania Chairman Val DiGiorgio had his party’s backsides handed to him, the south Philly native is on the road in a relentless pursuit to change the state GOP’s course ahead of the 2019 off-year elections.
He has to. With the 2020 presidential election right around the corner, DiGiorgio knows he is under pressure to turn things right-side up, beginning with himself.
It’s a Saturday afternoon, and DiGiorgio is driving home to Chester County from the party’s central caucus meeting after a busy week on the road.
On Tuesday, he was at the state capitol to congratulate GOP State House and Senate members (they still hold the majority in both chambers, but they are smaller). Thursday, he was in Washington to show support for the GOP congressional delegation. After starting 2018 with a 13-to-5 majority, he began 2019 with a 9-9 split with Democrats.
While the midterm elections were always going to be a tough election cycle for Republicans, DiGiorgio was dealt an unusual blow in the form a Democratic-activist Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which decided years after the congressional lines were drawn they were suddenly unconstitutional. Nearly every seat was redrawn to favor Democratic candidates, making an already tough year close to catastrophic.
The state party also had two other big losses in the gubernatorial race and the Senate race, where Democratic incumbents Gov. Tom Wolf and Sen. Bob Casey won with ease. Republicans knew well before Election Day these positions were out of reach for their challengers.
While it’s important to remember where they lost and why, DiGiorgio says he doesn’t want to get caught up in the rearview mirror. His focus is tackling the problems head on, which begins with listing them bluntly: fundraising, the suburbs, and party division.
“In a state where we’re outnumbered in registrations by 800,000 … if we’re not united, we’re not going to win,” he said.
“Our biggest challenge right now is the suburbs. Because we’re doing so well everywhere else in the state. The question is how do you get back ‘burb voters? Well the road map is to show suburban voters, especially suburban women, that we care and we have an agenda that helps their lives and communities. We don’t do a good job of speaking with one voice,” he said.
“We also have a fundraising challenge. In order for me to give a fundraiser, I have to tell the donors that the Republican Party has a message and a vision,” he said.
In 2018, Republicans bled suburban voters everywhere; these are DiGiorgio’s people, where his political roots spring from. He says he knows he has to earn their votes back to win in 2020 at all levels of government.
He also knows he needs to get just enough suburban voters back for President Trump to win re-election, while still keeping populists energized. He’s not worried about the latter, but is definitely worried about the former.
The necessary message and vision begins with the White House.
DiGiorgio is in constant contact with the Trump campaign. They all know Trump has to win Pennsylvania to win; If he’s winning Pennsylvania, then Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida are already in Trump’s pocket.
“We’re gearing up for 2020 already,” he said confidently.
When your name is at the top of the party, you get a lot of heat when you lose. DiGiorgio certainly has experienced his share of criticisms.
“I just stayed positive the whole time. That’s what I’ve instructed my staff to do on this. We have an agenda moving forward. We’re going to recruit good candidates, we’re going to find thousands of volunteers, and we’re going to update the way we do business,” he said.
“We’re going to rethink the way we do politics. We’re going to rely on data. We’re going to raise money, get our message out. Every time you start answering the naysayers it just takes you off of your game,” he said.
“We’re not going to get off of our game.”
