Republican Guy Ciarrocchi, the affable former president of the Chester County Chamber of Industry, suspended his campaign for governor last month and is now running for Congress. He is in the 6th District GOP primary for the chance to challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Chrissy Houlahan in November.
“My message is focused on helping our local businesses, employees and communities. We must empower parents—and end the threats of the FBI attending school board meetings. We must weaken the control of government in our lives, and restore it to us,” said Ciarrocchi.
“Thankfully, that is now the message of most candidates running statewide. Yet, this is not the message here in our community—a message we need to take to Washington,” he said.
The Republican governor’s race remains crowded, with former Congressman Lou Barletta leading in an early poll over state Sen. Doug Mastriano by 4 points.
Delaware County Councilman Dave White attended the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC 2022) and snared a meeting with former President Donald Trump. Ric Grenell subsequently endorsed White. Grenell served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and was acting director of national intelligence.
Another local candidate, Bill McSwain, former U.S. Attorney for southeastern Pennsylvania, received the endorsement of the Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs, a group with $20 million to spend. McSwain subsequently announced $6.2 million in ad buys leading up to the May 17 primary.
And a formidable contender for governor is state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, who made a splash with a push to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner over skyrocketing crime rates.
The GOP congressional primary has a crowd of its own. Steven Fanelli, Regina Mauro, Ron Vogel, and Bob Kennedy are running to unseat Houlahan. They all are vying for the Chester County Republican Committee’s endorsement on Thursday.
But Ciarrocchi, a frequent guest on area talk radio shows, says he believes his message and higher profile will carry the day.
A South Philadelphia native now living in Chester County, Ciarrocchi is known in Pennsylvania political circles for his work behind the scenes. He played a key role, for example, in the successful push last year to pass ballot questions limiting the governor’s emergency powers.
Ciarrocchi, who holds degrees from St. Joseph’s University and Villanova Law, worked as a deputy attorney general and served as chief of staff for state Sen. Melissa Hart, U.S. Representative Jim Gerlach, and Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley. He also was executive director of the Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools, regional director for the Bush-Cheney ’04 campaign, and regional director for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Ciarrochi and his wife, Chris, have three adult children.
“Everything in government is broken,” he told Delaware Valley Journal. “We feel society is falling apart. We need hope. We need a leader to take this common-sense conservative message in Washington—we are done having Washington dictate to us.”
Follow us on social media: Twitter: @DV_Journal or Facebook.com/DelawareValleyJournal
