Vogel, third-place finisher, slams Chester County GOP
The first-time candidate's campaign came under scrutiny after controversial social media posts were discovered
WEST CHESTER » A common feature of primary elections, even bitter ones, is the coming together of the losing candidates behind the winning one, the prevailing wisdom being that a united front is the best way to help boost the party’s chances at the polling place in November.
This week, for example, Republican candidate for governor Bill McSwain, a West Chester attorney, pledged his support for presumptive nominee Doug Mastriano, saying the party must work together to prevent a victory of Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro.
So, too, did Democrats Malcolm Kenyatta and Conor Lamb, who both lost to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the party’s race for U.S. Senate nominee. The men expressed support for Fetterman in the General Election and put aside — at least publicly — any bitterness that may have come during the run-up to primary election day.
Not so Ron Vogel, the first-time candidate for the 6th Congressional District whose campaign was rocked by discovery of controversial social media posts in his past that led, ultimately, to a remarkable censure by the Chester County Republican Committee and withdrawal of its support for his “America First”-style candidacy.
On Wednesday, a day after his apparent loss to fellow Republican Guy Ciarrocchi for the 6th District nomination, Vogel posted a statement on his campaign’s Facebook page harshly criticizing the party leadership in Chester County as “weak,” and “timid” and suggesting that the local committee people oust current party Chairman Dr. Gordon Eck in an upcoming party election.
“When I started this journey, I knew it would be an eye-opening experience, and I was right,” wrote Vogel, who noted the difference in support from party leaders in Chester County and those in Berks County. “In the words of Teddy Roosevelt, the Berks County GOP leadership chose to ‘speak softly and carry a big stick.’ The timid souls of the Chester County GOP leadership did not. As a result, the deck was intentionally stacked against me in Chester County, and the election was lopsided.
“When our party is led by weak men, we cannot expect to triumph in the face of adversity,” said Vogel, who had earlier posted a video slamming the party leaders who voted for his censure over the social media posts, which were described by some as antiSemitic, racist and sexist. “This time, I was the casualty. Next time and every other time after that, it will be some other conservative who genuinely wants to make his or her country great.”
Vogel did not respond to requests for comment on his statement, and Eck did not return an email seeking his thoughts on the matter.
According to partial, unofficial election results from the two counties, Ciarrocchi led the four candidates seeking to run against incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan in the fall with 23,114 votes, or 33.2 percent of the total of 69,596 Republican ballots. Ciarrocchi is the president and CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry and a one-time staff leader with former U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach.
Vogel, a Realtor from Charlestown, came in third in the overall voting with 15,396 votes, or 22%, although he did finish first in Berks County polling, with 4,248 votes. Ciarrocchi came in third there, with 2,983 votes.
The other candidates were Birmingham businessman Steve Fanelli, who finished in second place with 20,890 votes, or 29.8%, and Tredyffrin businesswoman Regina Mauro, who came in fourth with 10,336 votes, or 14.8 percent.
Democrat Houlahan, who ran unopposed for her third term in Congress, received 68,954 votes in the two counties that make up the district.
The trajectory of Vogel’s neophyte campaign is unique in local political circles. A virtual unknown in GOP politics prior to 2022, he announced his intention to run for the nomination against Houlahan in January. The following month, after Ciarrocchi had entered the race, Vogel came in ahead of all candidates for the Chester County GOP’s endorsement, although because he did not garner sufficient votes for the nod he was instead recommended, along with Ciarrocchi.
But according to the April 25 Chester County Republican Committee’s censure of him, in March certain social media posts and comments authored by or delivered to Vogel depicting “racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, and/or homophobic comments” began making circles in the county. The committee said he eventually admitted to sending or receiving them years ago, but that his political advisors told him to “just ignore the situation” as they were “no big deal.”
One of the videos on YouTube includes a portion of a song titled, “Hitler Was A Sensitive Man,” and shows a photo of the Nazi leader with a bouquet of flowers. The artist who recorded the song goes by a pseudonym that includes a derogatory term referring to women.
The second appears to show Vogel exchanging texts on Facebook with two men that use a racially charged slur for Black people — although in the texts Vogel himself sent the specific word is not used, only an abbreviation for it and a word using typographical characters for the slur.
Finally, another screenshot of a post that Vogel allegedly shared from YouTube shows an image of Adolph Hitler supposedly angry about the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team. In his comments, Vogel refers to it as “the FUNNIEST video I have seen in a long time.”
It was not until a reporter from MediaNews Group began asking questions about the posts in late April that Eck personally spoke to the candidate about the matter, according to the resolution.
Eck “learned that Vogel’s plan was to ‘deny, deny, deny.’ Vogel explained that the social media posts were a decade old, when he was younger and while he posted some inappropriate things they were ‘no big deal.’ ” Eck, however, warned that the posts could be “lethal to his campaign.”
After some discussion about how to respond to questions from the press, a phone call among Eck, Vice Chairwoman Felice Fein, party Solicitor Michael Taylor, and Vogel and an unnamed political consultant was held on April 20. The committee urged Vogel to take the matter seriously and address it and apologize.
Those on the call, the resolution states, “expressed that the public is very forgiving and will understand that he is older and wiser now. Then, after addressing the situation, (he should) pivot to something positive in your campaign.”
However, Vogel and his consultant “remained defiant,” with the consultant expressing that “the only people taking this seriously were Vogel’s opponents and people of no significance.” Eck fought back, saying that “many serious and dedicated people” had concerns about the posts and how the news of them would resonate. Vogel at first agreed to step out of the race, but reversed course and went back on the campaign trail. He said later that he understood any suspension of his campaign would be temporary and that he was never asked to withdraw.
On Monday, April 25, the GOP executive committee met for two hours, at which time it was learned that Vogel had other questionable posts on social media sites. After examining its options, the committee decided to issue the rebuke of Vogel, calling his actions to “deny and deflect” a “disservice to the citizens of Chester County” that could not be condoned.
By April 27, Vogel’s photo was gone from the list of endorsed or recommended candidates of the party’s website. He continued to run, however, and eventually claimed more than 15,000 votes. Below his statement slamming the Chester County committee, several of his supporters continued to praise him for continuing the campaign.
In the statement, Vogel suggested that his supporters take action against Eck, who is said to be running for a new term as GOP chairman later this summer.
“Until you change your party’s leaders, the same machinations will snuff out those who dare to have the courage to run and challenge the status quo,” said Vogel, who has recently referred to Chester County Republicans as “RINO Romney Republicans in West Chester.”
“Know your committee person. Know how they vote. Hold them accountable when their county party chairman lacks a spine or wields his power manipulatively,” he wrote. “The party chairman only has whatever power the committee gives him. So take it away!”
“Until you change your party’s leaders, the same machinations will snuff out those who dare to have the courage to run and challenge the status quo.” — Ron Vogel