MAGA insurgencies, infighting paralyzes local Republican orgs in PA

Since the 2020 presidential election, the local Republican committees in Allegheny, Washington and Butler counties have all splintered, with many factions believing that Mr. Trump won the election and some demanding MAGA litmus tests for anyone who runs for elected office.

Of the three Republican county chairmanships, only Sam DeMarco in Allegheny still holds his seat.

Dave Ball in Washington County — who was instrumental in flipping his county’s voter registration totals from majority Democrat to majority Republican — declined to seek reelection after six years in leadership roles. “I couldn’t take the infighting anymore,” the former U.S. Steel executive said in an interview.

[This reminds me a bit of the post-2012 cycle when Ron Paul-aligned groups took over local BPOUs in Minnesota. It created a fracture that kneecapped Republicans for more than one cycle. The difference in this case may be that pro-MAGA activists are more committed to the GOP than Paul’s activists, who were more libertarian in nature. — Ed]