Franklin County Republicans have a lot to vote for on April 23

Franklin County Republicans have a bad habit of not showing up to vote in non-presidential elections, and that’s especially true in primary elections, which in terms of local races, determine who will be representing us.

In fact, if you went out and did a “man in the street” poll in the county on any given day, the average respondent probably couldn’t tell you the difference between a primary and general election, when election day is, the name of their voting precinct, or who represents them in county row offices and the state legislature. A much higher percentage could tell you when deer season begins or when Penn State opens their 2024 schedule. Go ahead, prove me wrong.

Numbers don’t lie. Average Franklin County Republican turnout in primary elections over the last eight elections is a pathetic 34.5%, from a high of 53.9% in 2016 to a low of 16.2% in 2017. The 2016 turnout number, with Donald Trump competing for Pennsylvania’s Republican convention delegates, was the only primary during those eight years where more than half of Republicans bothered to vote.

Think about it, folks, on average, only one out of three Republican voters are motivated and informed enough to come out and choose their government representatives in a primary. Maybe that’s why we have people in office who couldn’t care less what we think or what our problems are, because they are more beholden to a local political establishment than to the few stragglers who show up on election day.

To translate the problem into terms most will understand, let’s look at one election and some of the issues involved.

In 2019, Republican John Flannery ran against longtime incumbents Bob Thomas and Dave Keller in the May Primary and managed to unseat Commissioner Bob Thomas. Flannery had promised to be a voice for the taxpayers and to take on some specific issues if elected. He specifically promised during his campaign to work to change Franklin County’s status as a “Sanctuary County” as designated by the Center for Immigration Studies. He also pledged he would undo the program that pays a “spy plane” that surveils Franklin County homeowners to find any improvements that the county can tax.

In the meantime, John signed up as a dues-paying member of the local Republican establishment, and predictably, four years later, nothing has changed and we are still a sanctuary county and the spy plane is still watching us. Now to be fair to John, he was in the minority during his first term, but we are now two months into his second term with a new “conservative” majority and still nothing has changed. GOP voters had a chance to hold John accountable for his broken promises last year, but as usual, only a paltry 28% turned out in the 2023 primary, meaning about 70% couldn’t be bothered.

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In 2024, we have no county officers on the ballot, but in addition to Donald Trump and perhaps one or two already-vanquished presidential contenders we can vote for, there is a hot State Representative race. In the 90th Legislative District race to replace retiring State Representative Paul Schemel, there are two contenders, conservative homegrown Republican Chad Reichard and establishment backed, liberal Democrat-turned Republican Janon Gray. This race has gotten some attention both locally and also nationally in several newspaper columns I wrote, including in USA TODAY, due to Gray’s change in registration from Democrat to Republican once he moved here and deciding to run for school board, and his former gushing Tweets to former President Obama.

Since then, a group called Conservative Women of the Waynesboro Area has unearthed and published photos on their Facebook page of Gray proudly posing with drag queens. Now, these photos may be entirely innocent, but they will not go over well with the overwhelmingly conservative voters of the 90th District. At the very least, the pics call Janon Gray’s judgment into question as well as his suitability to continue to serve on the Greencastle School Board.

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In conclusion, my message to Franklin County Republican voters is simple: circle Tuesday, April 23, on your calendar and be prepared to come out and support Donald Trump for president. If you are in the townships of Antrim, Montgomery, Peters, Quincy, Warren and Washington, and the boroughs of Greencastle, Mercersburg, Mont Alto and Waynesboro, you have that hot state legislative race as well.

Let’s see if we can beat the 2016 turnout numbers, Republicans!

Dwight Weidman is a resident of Greene Township and is a graduate of Shepherd University. He is retired from the United States Department of Defense, where his career included assignments In Europe, Asia, and Central America. He has been in leadership roles for the Republican Party in two states, most recently serving two terms as Chairman of the Franklin County Republican Party. He has been an Amateur Radio Operator since 1988, getting his first license in Germany, a past volunteer with both Navy and Army MARS, Military Auxiliary Radio Service, and is also an NRA-certified firearms instructor. In his spare time, he dabbles in genealogy and learning new languages.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Why Republicans have a lot at stake in Franklin County elections