Republican chairman explains what it takes to win in the suburbs
Donald Trump won the pivotal swing-state of Pennsylvania for a second time in three elections and the improvements he made in the collar counties of Philadelphia cannot go unmentioned. Trump was able to flip Bucks County, but it’s also important to note the gains he made in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties.
In Delaware County, specifically, the traction he gained with working class voters, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer, shows you the connection he made with blue collar workers in the steady blue precincts.
In order to understand the gains made by Trump, I spoke with Frank Agovino, chairman of Delaware County’s GOP, to see if the progress made by Republicans is solely a Trump centric one-off, why Trump resonated with the common man, and if the Keystone State is no longer a battleground state.
“I think, both, two things with Trump, we definitely saw an improvement in precincts in the areas that are traditionally difficult: minority areas, 6th and 7th, along the Philly border. When you dive deep, we moved more to the right than the average, 10-11%. He added “I really saw something with African American males. They were open to voting for Trump. I saw them, I talked with them, they wanted something different. They understood inflation was high and so was crime. Things were not great. Trump was a straight shooter. It resonated. Trump had a message, and people wanted the change and it’s still happening. We’re seeing independents grow over both parties, with the biggest exodus being Dem to unaffiliated.”
When it came to Trump and the connection he made with the blue-collar worker, Agovino said it’s hardly a Trump phenomenon. “It’s a phenomenon going on across the country. It’s flipping from the 80’s to now. Democrats are the educated elite, it’s a complete role reversal,” he said. “Trump is not perceived as a politician, but he says what he says, doesn’t give a damn who he offends, there’s a grit to him, even though he’s the billionaire from Mar-A-Lago. If you pick the top 5 adjectives in Delco, it starts with grit. We’ve become more blue collar, not less. Manufacturing is gone, but refining is still a thing and the jobs are good paying. We’re getting more and more blue collar by the day. Delco represents America. We have a lot of everything in this county, from affluent to poor.”
Pennsylvania and its nineteen electoral college votes will always be valued by both the Republican party and Democratic party. Is Pennsylvania still considered a battleground or are Republicans in the driver’s seat moving forward? Agovino says there is still work to do. “I would say we are still purple but approaching red. I think we will need a couple more years of election cycles and we will get there. Trending Republican at this rate with this platform. We asked the campaign many times to have a presence in Delco. JD Vance is educated and sharp as a whip, but his background and growing up also resonated in Delco. They did a good job of connecting with voters about his past and coming through the ranks. Delco liked JD Vance.”
Agovino added: “Social issues were an underpinning issue and played to the Republican’s success. It was going too far left. Delco is a moderate county, and the far-left attempts to normalize their ideologies were starting to feel like too much to Republicans.”
Agovino is new to the arena, having been a part of the political scene for just over a year and a half, but he absolutely knows his constituents, he wanted the Trump campaign to make an investment in Delaware County, and the Trump campaign capitalized on their time invested in one of Philadelphia’s most diverse suburbs.
The GOP has built up trust and good will with more voters in Delaware County and the collar counties in 2024 than they had in 2020. Now it’s time to deliver on campaign promises and produce results. Agovino seems to believe that slow and steady will win the race and he’s confident that Republicans are on the right track, even in the soon-to-come post Trump era.