Republican D.A. In Franklin County Endorses Biden
Matthew Fogal, Franklin County D.A. Source, New York Times
On July 15, Campbell Robertson reported in the New York Times about a burgeoning protest movement in an unlikely location; Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
Chambersburg, with a population of 21,143, is the county seat of Franklin County, which has a population of 155,027. Located in the south central part of Pennsylvania, Franklin County hasn’t voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since Lyndon Johnson ran in 1964. And since then, Jimmy Carter (1976) is the only Democratic presidential candidate to get as much as 40% of the vote in this county,
There are probably hundreds of similar groups in similar Red cities and counties across the country, but what makes Chambersburg, Franklin County, a more interesting story, is that the Republican D.A. there (who in 2019 was elected for the third time) has voiced support for the movement.
Robertson wrote, “The most unexpected champion, perhaps, has been the Franklin County district attorney, Matt Fogal, a Republican. For weeks he had been stewing, unhappy about how partisan the pandemic response had become and about the president’s provocations. Then one afternoon he heard the protest out of his office window.“
“I’m listening to them out there and just people honking in support, absolutely peaceful, a contrast to some of the images that we had been seeing,” he said. He sent a statement to local media. “Black lives matter. Period,” it said, going on to urge people to put country over party in November.
The former chairman of the local Republican Party called the statement “thoroughly disgusting.”
“Disgusting,” is how Dwight D. Weidman, former Chair of the Franklin County Republicans, described Fogal’s support of Black Lives Matter, in his blog, Franklin County Journal.
Click here to read full text of “Disgusting.”
Fogal Censured
On August 19, in a letter from current County Republican Chair, Allen Coffman, the Franklin County Republicans officially censured Fogal.
The Franklin County Republican Party embraced you after your switch from an Independent to a Republican after the death of our District Attorney in 2009. You have enjoyed running unopposed for your office since. Your recent actions can only be seen as a betrayal of those who have given you their support, and the 72% of Franklin County voters (Republicans, Democrats, and Independents) who gave President Trump their votes in 2016, Coffman wrote.
Click here to read full text of letter.
Fogal Supporters Push Back
On September 4, USA Today reported that “Leaders of the local grassroots groups Racial Reconciliation, Community Uniting! and the Franklin County Coalition for Progress have now produced their own letter that supports Fogal and accuses the local GOP committee of using misinformation and mis-characterizations in an attempt to justify their stance against the D.A. and Black Lives Matter. Leaders of the local grassroots groups Racial Reconciliation, Community Uniting! and the Franklin County Coalition for Progress have now produced their own letter that supports Fogal and accuses the local GOP committee of using misinformation and mis-characterizations in an attempt to justify their stance against the D.A. and Black Lives Matter.”
He Explicitly Endorses Biden
On Saturday (September 12) Fogal wrote, in an Op. Ed. piece that appeared in PennLive.com
I now vividly learned that as a Republican elected official, speaking out against the president doesn’t make me popular within the party as it has currently been (de)constructed. But, watching an American president show such a blatant disrespect for the Constitution made me realize that I could not be silent.
Not when it comes to supporting peaceful protesters or standing up for Black lives, and not when it comes to what’s at stake in this election… our democracy. While I refuse to be driven from the Republican party on its terms, the party must hastily and thoroughly correct course if it wants to remain relevant and maintain/attract new members like me going forward.
This moment is calling for a president who will serve all Americans, regardless of what political party he represents. Today, I am proud to say that I will be voting for Joe Biden.