Howard, Pennsylvania – William “Bill” Bachenberg remains a potential candidate in the PA GOP Chairman race, after a promising albeit unofficial voice vote that took place during an exploratory meeting at the Howard Fire Company this past Saturday.
Bachenberg said “many of the rural committee chairs from across the state” attended the Central Caucus Chair meeting at the fire house, which was about 25 miles outside of State College. He added: the vocal tally was “almost unanimous” in his favor, per a witness report as he was not present for that portion of the meeting. Reportedly one of the 21 chairs present was undecided.
Bachenberg stopped short of confirming if he is entering the race, but will keep Harrisburg100 posted.
Bachenberg launched the “exploratory committee” in running for the PA GOP open chair seat Friday afternoon. To date, the lone candidate for that imminent vacancy is state Senator Greg Rothman, who entered the race upon current PAGOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas’ decision to not seek re-election, Friday, Dec. 13th. There was a second candidate – longtime Trump advisor Ted Christian – who also entered the race with a formal announcement on ‘X’, only to withdraw about a week later, after party elites piled on endorsements for Rothman.
“I’m humbled by the huge outpouring of support coming in from across the state in the last 24 hours,” Bachenberg said in a Sunday nightemail to Harrisburg100.
Rothman has been the target of a controversial attack email, written by Cumberland County Commissioner Gary Eichelberger to Senator-elect Dave McCormick, calling Rothman the “dirty tricks” guy and alleging that Rothman is tied to $90,000 in “dark money” to fund what he termed the: “RINO” county commissioner, Kelly Neiderer. Harrisburg100 shared that Dec. 14th email in full online.
In addition to being a state and national political activist, Bachenberg identifies himself as a serial businessman in the Lehigh Valley; who brings a business and grassroots perspective to politics. Bachenberg was the MC for then-candidate Donald Trump’s rally in Scranton the night before the election in 2016. He was President Trump’s PA Finance Co-Chairman for the 2020 election, raising over $5M and launched “Sportsmen for Trump” at his shooting range, Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays, the site of many political events during 2024.
Bachenberg was an alternate elector in 2020 and an elector in 2024. He and his wife founded Camp Freedom, a year-round outdoor adventure camp for disabled veterans and first responders, their families and Gold Star Families using nature to heal our American heroes. Bachenberg was elected in May as the 1st Vice President of the National Rifle Association of America.
Harrisburg100 
This article is misleading. I am a chairwoman who was present at this meeting. No “voice-vote” was taken. One chairman never voiced his opinion, two other chairmen had already left the meeting, and I (who must have been deemed the “undecided” vote) spoke up to decry the very biased manner in which this conversation had been conducted. They made a “straw man” out of Greg Rothman, making him the “establishment candidate,” and “corrupt,” based on incomplete information that he was never provided adequate time to explain.
I am not saying that I will 100% vote for Greg Rothman, but if we are professionals, I believe the vetting process should be much more fair, unbiased, and comprehensive than this. This was an unbelievable exercise in “group think.” I vote for laying out all of the facts on both sides, engaging in critical thinking, and then making an INDEPENDENT decision – not just going along with the crowd.
The grassroots hates being railroaded by the establishment GOP. Well, what did they just do? Looked like the exact same dirty deed to me. We can do better. Get real, and be fair. Stop playing the tactics of the brainwashed left which states, “I’ve already made my decision, so don’t bother me with the facts.” We need to base our decisions upon Truth – the Whole Truth.
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🤔
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the crowd, as in, the majority?!
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As another chair at the meeting referenced in the article, I can attest to the accuracy of the details in the above comment by Anonymous.
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if we are to believe what the two of you wrote above, why didn’t the two of you sign your name’s? My feelings is if you don’t have the courage to sign you name’s then your opinion doesn’t mean anything and the opinions should be overlooked.
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