Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Loughery to lead Chester County Republicans
The Chester County Republican Committee has chosen Rick Loughery to replace Val DiGiorgio as its chairman.
WEST CHESTER >> The Chester County Republican Committee has chosen Rick Loughery to replace Val DiGiorgio as its chairman, following the announcement last month that DiGiorgio would give up his position after the 2018 midterm elections in which the county elected its first Democratic member of Congress since the Civil War.
The committee, made up of area members from the county’s 72 municipalities, made the unanimous decision to back Loughery, currently the county’s elected recorder of deeds, a a voting session Jan. 7 at Fugett Middle School.
Loughery will serve the balance of the unexpired term, which will expire in June 2020, in the midst of next year’s presidential election.
“I am extremely honored and humbled by the support of this committee,” Loughery said about his election in a press release. “I first got involved with the county party 17 years ago, and I never imagined I would have the opportunity to lead this organization.”
“I am excited to hit the ground running in such a critical year,” Loughery said. “I look forward to our committee’s endorsement process in the coming weeks, and to energizing this first-class organization.”
The off-year elections feature county row office seats, as well as local municipal and school district positions. It will prove a test of whether the county GOP can retain its domination of the county courthouse — with the commissioners, district attorney, and sheriff seats all up for election, as well as two seats on the Common Pleas Court — or whether the county’s Democratic Committee can continue to make inroads in elected positions.
In 2017, the Democrats made history by sweeping four elected row office positions — controller, coroner, clerk of courts and treasurer — the first time those positions had been held by Democrats. Then, in 2018, newcomer Chrissy Houlahan of Easttown was elected overwhelmingly to Congress, where she now represents the 6th District. The county has also voted for a Democratic nominee for president in two of the last three election cycles, including Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The county Democratic Party has also cut into the traditional Republican voter registration edge, and now trails the GOP in voters by only 11,000 – 152,000 to 141,000. There are 357,000 registered voters in the county as of December.
Loughery, however, expressed optimism that he would be able to coalesce his committee members around candidates for a successful county campaign in 2019.
“We have a diverse and talented committee, army of volunteers, and vast network of donors. I am confident that our message and candidates will offer the best path forward for Chester County residents and families.”
“Families move to Chester County for the great schools, low taxes, and high quality of life. Our county did not develop like this overnight. Years of dedicated Republican leadership has established Chester County as one of the most desirable communities to live in nationally,” he added.
Loughery was elected in November 2011 as the recorder of deeds, the the youngest elected county official in Pennsylvania. As recorder, he established a new program honoring veterans and built partnerships to prevent real estate fraud. He was re-elected in 2015, but has announced he will not seek re-election.
In February 2017, he was elected as the chairman of the Pennsylvania Young Republicans, serving as the organization’s Chief Executive Officer and spokesman for Young Republicans across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Loughery earned his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees from West Chester University. He was a staff member in Commissioner Terence Farrell’s office and was an elected auditor in Schuylkill.