Conservatives Post Victory in Montgomery County

Some of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s most liberal Republicans come from Montgomery County. They’ve voted against everything from liquor store privatization to ending union members’ exemption from prosecution for serious crimes. When challenged, the local GOP would always argue that "Conservatives can’t get elected here." As of now, that argument is demonstrably false. On November 3, 2015, a twenty-six-year-old unabashed free market conservative was elected County Commissioner, and his name is Joe Gale.

CAP and the CAP PAC usually stay out of county politics. However, the Montgomery County GOP’s actions in this race were so egregious, and Gale’s candidacy was so compelling that we could not sit on the sidelines. For a little back-story, Joe Gale won an upset victory in the May primary election. He was not endorsed by the local GOP and ran a very successful grassroots campaign. After the primary, the Montgomery County GOP was unwilling to support Gale. CAP was told by multiple sources that Gale’s campaign donors were called by Mike Vereb, Chairman of the Montgomery County GOP and a member of the General Assembly and told to stop donating to the Gale campaign. Rep. Vereb is no conservative, and he has collected over $160,000 in campaign contributions from organized labor since 2006.

The gangster tactics of the Montgomery County GOP and the conservative positions of Joe Gale led to the CAP PAC’s involvement in this race. We are excited about Gale’s victory. As a side note, we have had credible inquiries from individuals who are now interested in mounting a primary campaign against Rep. Mike Vereb next year and an interest from several of our PAC donors in contributing to that effort.