Republicans think they could retake a seat on Delco council this year. Their primary has been rife with online spats

Hours after a right-wing challenger was removed from the GOP primary ballot for Delaware County council on a Thursday last month, the county party issued a statement decrying the behavior of “a small but vocal minority” that claimed to represent Republican values.

The prior weeks, the statement noted, had brought out the best and the worst in the suburban GOP as this small group leveled “preposterous accusations, unlawful recordings, countless lies, and attempts at intimidation.”

“The actions of a few, while disconcerting, have in many ways brought our party of 150,000 registered Republicans closer, sharpened our focus, and strengthened our resolve,” the statement said.

By the following Monday, the post was deleted.

Party chair Frank Agovino said he deleted the post after around 400 comments had been made by a handful of people arguing in the comments section.

Once a powerful machine that ran the suburban county for generations, Delaware County Republicans have not held a seat on the county’s governing board since Democrats took control of all five council seats in 2020.

Two of those seats are on the ballot this year, and, on the heels of a 23% property tax increase, GOP leaders believe the 2025 election represents the party’s best chance yet to regain a seat on the governing board.

But that chance to regain power has yielded a chaotic primary fight that has highlighted tensions and divisions within the party, some that have festered since the 2020 election when conspiracy theories about election fraud caught fire among right-wing GOP activists.

The struggle has been largely contained to social media where establishment Republicans say it will have little bearing on their race against Democrats in November. But others worry it’s created a distraction that threatens to harm a party that must appeal to both conservatives and moderates to win.

In Delaware County, and across the U.S., establishment Republicans have struggled to contend with the extreme right wing of the party that is deeply aligned with President Donald Trump and often takes an all-or-nothing approach to conservative issues while continuing to promote debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud.

Agovino, who has chaired the Delco GOP since 2022, said inner-party fights reflect a loss in civility in politics in both parties.

“I don’t begrudge anybody for having energy and wanting to be part of the process but we have to do it together,” Agovino said. “Even this small group of people, if you sat them down one by one, chances are that we would probably agree on 80% of things.”

In Delaware County, each party’s candidates for public office are often decided before voters cast a ballot in the May primaries. The county parties hold private nominating conventions where candidates pitch themselves to a collection of party leaders for a coveted endorsement.

That endorsement gives candidates a major advantage in closed party primaries that tend to discourage unendorsed candidates from throwing their hats in the ring.

This year, Delaware County Democrats are supporting incumbent council member Richard Womack and County Controller Joanne Phillips. After a messy endorsement process and the withdrawal of one of the party’s initial picks, the Delco Republicans threw their support behind former Upper Darby Council member Brian Burke and former county worker Liz Piazza.

Charlie Alexander, a right-wing activist who has spread conspiracy theories about undocumented immigrants, announced he would run in the primary against the establishment’s picks after he was not nominated for the party endorsement.

Alexander pitched his candidacy on the idea that he was a newcomer with new ideas but also on a claim that the Delco GOP had tried to buy him out of the race with the promise of a job leading a county department and he had refused, proving he couldn’t be bought.

He quickly gained the support of Leah Hoopes, who is known in Delaware County for making false claims of election fraud and has repeatedly clashed with party leaders in recent years.

Bill Ruane, the person Alexander said tried to buy him out of the race, holds no official position in the party and maintains that Alexander took their conversation out of context. He has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Alexander and Hoopes.

Since the GOP nominating convention in February, Alexander and Hoopes have become increasingly antagonistic toward party leadership. Hoopes also persistently attacked one candidate, Tasliym Morales, online until she dropped out of the race. She has continued regularly posting in support of Alexander and criticizing party leaders, referring to the party as a “uniparty.” The posts often resulted in accusatory online sparring as establishment Republicans, including Val Biancaniello, a state committee person, have added their own posts critical of Hoopes and Alexander.

Hoopes declined to answer questions and in an email was critical of The Inquirer’s coverage.

Alexander said his primary concern with the county GOP is that “it pays just as good for the Delaware County GOP to take second place as it does first place,” but he declined to elaborate further.

Agovino, who said he didn’t want to call out specific people, said the attacks the GOP is facing online have left him flabbergasted.

“They’re preposterous allegations,” he said. “I don’t really understand where any of it comes from.”

The antagonism between Alexander and establishment Republicans reached a new height last month when three Republicans, represented by a prominent GOP law firm in Delaware County, challenged Alexander’s candidacy. A county judge sided with the challenge, knocking Alexander from the ballot for insufficient paperwork.

The petitioners and their attorney did not respond to requests for comment. But Agovino said the GOP was not part of the case and tends to stay at “arm’s length” from such petitions.

In several court filings, Alexander argued his removal from the ballot was politically orchestrated and that by denying his petitions the judge in the case was a “political enabler of election manipulation.” He has an appeal pending before the Commonwealth Court.

“I think they are trampling all over election integrity right now by pursuing this because Charlie is the one that did not follow the rules and file … [his statement of financial interest] in the first place,” Biancaniello said.

Last month Alexander said he would run a write-in campaign if he wasn’t able to gain ballot access. But in an interview earlier this month, Alexander said he was no longer sure of his path forward but was confident that he would win his appeals.

Alexander, in his postings online, has suggested Republicans are trying to knock him off the ballot because they fear his candidacy. However, no polling exists in the race and, historically, Alexander’s campaign represents a long shot as an unendorsed candidate.

Thus far, Alexander’s campaign tactics have focused on social media and “other marketing,” he said. Online engagement, recognition in the streets, and the more than 1,500 signatures he gathered for his candidacy indicate he has a strong base of support, he noted.

He cites the existence of “burner accounts” attacking him online as evidence that establishment leaders are concerned.

“I’m just operating as I was raised to with integrity and authenticity and, unfortunately, Delaware County GOP lacks both,” Alexander said.

But Agovino, Piazza, Burke, Ruane, and other GOP leaders don’t see Alexander as a threat.

“They’re bigger in their own minds and in their own social media than they really are in society,” Ruane said.

After the GOP primary on May 20, Burke, the former Upper Darby council person, said concerns over Delaware County’s financial health are certain to unite Republicans.

“When we hit May 21, I think you’re gonna see Delaware County residents come together looking for a change,” Burke said.

Alexander said Monday he had not decided whether he would support Republican candidates if he weren’t a nominee. State law allows him to file to run as an independent in the general election or wage a write-in campaign.

At the end of the day, Agovino said, the intraparty arguments and accusations will ultimately be meaningless in a local election cycle where voters aren’t paying attention yet.

“I only think it’s a distraction if some of those people decide to vote for Democrats or not vote at all,” he said.

Meanwhile, the primary lays bare disputes that continue to fester within the party.

Joy Schwartz, a county committee person and 2023 candidate for county council, said the sparring has highlighted frustration among grassroots activists who, like her, feel that they are not listened to and don’t like the fact that party leaders pick candidates rather than leaving it to primary voters. The squabbles, she said, will continue until either the GOP bylaws and practices change or grassroots activists leave the party.

“Both Leah and Charlie have been brutally honest in their remarks against GOP primary endorsements and they have both drawn criticism for being excessively salty and divisive in their online posts,” Schwartz said in a statement. “But are they wrong?”

Biancaniello, who insists those on the far right don’t represent the will of most Republicans, said the past few weeks had painted a picture of divisiveness that could harm the party in the long run.

“With all of this drama it does make it more difficult to get highly qualified candidates to step into the arena,” she said.