Local Republicans, Democrats react to election results
File photo
Local Republicans were exultant and Democrats were looking to regroup following an election that saw former President Donald Trump win Pennsylvania on his way back to the White House, and Republicans up and down the ballot scoring touchdowns.
In fact, the Facebook page of the Fayette County Republican Committee boasted a cover photo Wednesday featuring a red-tinted tidal wave. It also had an image of Trump declaring victory in the small hours of Wednesday, with the statement, “Now let’s save our country and return it to greatness.”
Sean Logue, chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, said the return of Trump to the White House in January represents a rejection of “Bidenomics and the woke agenda.”
“President Trump will now unite the country and implement a growth agenda that will bring greater prosperity to Washington County,” Logue said.
George Rattay, who leads Fayette County’s Democratic Party, unsuccessfully challenged state Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa in the 51st Legislative District. The day after, Rattay said in a statement: “Reflecting on Republican wins in yesterday’s elections, I think back on what President John Kennedy said about winning and losing: “Victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.”
He added, “Republicans, local, statewide and nationally today have a lot of fathers celebrating their wins. Democrats, though, aren’t feeling abandoned, alone.”
Rattay believes the Democrats have “a solid base of voter support that can, with hard work and time, expand.” He also said many Republicans agree with Democrats on some issues, particularly a woman’s right to choose.
Bill Pulkownik, chairman of Greene County’s Democratic Committee, said in a statement that the committee “is united in the belief that character matters. But the voters have spoken, and we believe in a democracy in which every legally registered voter has an equal voice.”
He added, “So Donald Trump, a convicted felon and twice-impeached former president, has won a fair election, and we respect these results. We appreciate those who worked to provide a safe election and hope our country begins to unite after many have time to heal.”
In Washington, Mayor JoJo Burgess, a former vice chairman of Washington County’s Democratic Party, said the defeat of Democrats on Tuesday was “not the end of the world.”
“It is what it is,” Burgess added. “The people spoke. … We lost. We took a sound beating.”
He added that he has fruitful relationships with local Republican officials in his role as Washington’s mayor, and he hoped that Trump has a successful term when he arrives back at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
“Because if he fails, we fail,” Burgess said.