Ted Christian, a former Trump campaign official from Bucks County, withdrew from the race for GOP state party chairman.
After announcing his bid at the annual Pennsylvania Society gathering in New York earlier this month, Christian withdrew Thursday in the wake of U.S. Sen.-elect Dave McCormick’s endorsement of state Sen. Greg Rothman.
“Eight years ago, conventional wisdom and many party insiders believed that a Republican presidential candidate would never win in Pennsylvania,” Christian wrote on social media. “I enthusiastically took up the challenge when I joined the Trump campaign in the fall of 2015. President Trump proved them wrong then and this year. He led an impressive ticket to victory.”
Christian said he always “put our party first.”
“With that in mind, I have decided I will not continue running to be the chairman of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. I will be supporting my friend, Greg Rothman, and look forward to supporting the party in new ways moving forward,” Christian wrote, thanking the committee members and others who backed him.
Rothman jumped in the race last week after the current chair, Lawrence Tabas, announced he would step down at the end of his term next year. Rothman, 58, was elected in 2022 to represent the 34th Senate District, which includes Cumberland and Perry Counties and part of Dauphin County.
Rothman, a successful businessman who chaired the Cumberland County GOP, had served in the Marine Corps.
McCormick thanked Christian via X.
“I’d like to thank Ted Christian for his many years of service to the @PAGOP and for stepping forward to lead. Ted has been a strong leader for the conservative movement for many years, and I know he will continue to work tirelessly with Republican leaders across our commonwealth to put America and Pennsylvania First while advancing President Trump’s agenda,” McCormick said.
Several other prominent state Republicans also endorsed Rothman, including state House Whip Rep. Tim O’Neal (R-Washington) and Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward.
Christian had the blessing and $100,000 in cash from Bucks County venture capitalist Paul Martino. In 2021, Martino led a parents movement for better public schools. His Back to School PAC supported school board candidates nationwide, with more than 100 pro-parent candidates winning seats on various school boards.
Martino noted that he’d contributed to Christian’s campaign in October.
“I have been working on his campaign since the long before the November election,” said Martino.
“I am certainly disappointed as I continue to believe that Ted is the right guy for the job, a job he has been diligently working towards for many years. That said, it is clear who runs the GOP in Pennsylvania now – and that’s Dave McCormick. He made his pick, and the party fell in line. I hope this marks the start of a new chapter of strong leadership for our party in Pennsylvania, as change was certainly needed.”
