PA Senator Ryan Aument - R (Lancaster County)

[PickingPA]

I can vote for him and I did.

Excellent!

Unfortunately, the primary attempt was unsuccessful. However, the results should give Aument pause, as should Mastriano’s strong win.

Mike Miller 15827
Ryan P. Aument 23183
Write-In 0
by Precinct 39010

[PickingPA]

The (Lancaster GOP) Swamp strikes back.

Representative Dave Zimmerman faces backlash for support of right-wing candidate in primary


A rural Lancaster County lawmaker lost most of his committee assignments in the House, including one that focuses on agricultural and farming issues crucial to his district, after openly supporting a right-wing candidate who tried unsuccessfully to unseat Republican state Sen. Ryan Aument in the primary.

It is not clear whether Rep. David Zimmerman resigned his committee seats or was kicked off. But a state lawmaker from neighboring York County who also lost his committee assignments told LNP | LancasterOnline both he and Zimmerman were stripped of them by House leaders.

Zimmerman’s loss of committee assignments suggests the four-term lawmaker from East Earl Township has found himself increasingly at odds with many in the local GOP and, more importantly, the rest of the county’s Republican House delegation.


The loss will have consequences for his constituents in the 99th Legislative District. Committee seats provide legislators with greater ability to shape and determine what legislation makes its way to the House floor to be voted into law.

Zimmerman, who did not return a call seeking comment, supported the Senate campaign of Republican Michael R. Miller, a financial planner from Ephrata Township who has helped spread lies about the 2020 election, over the party-endorsed Aument. Aument, backed by the Republican committee, won by 20 percentage points.

Historically, the county GOP has taken a dim view of members and elected officials who don’t fall in line behind its endorsed slate of candidates.

“In the primary, we are allowed to support anyone we want, as long as they are Republican, but it is unusual for anyone, especially a legislator, to support anyone who isn't endorsed by the party,” said Shelley Castetter, a political consultant from Lancaster County who works closely with House Speaker Bryan Cutler, a Republican from Peach Bottom.

“I don’t agree with Dave Zimmerman on this, and I was disappointed he decided not to support Aument, and I think when someone is endorsed, we should try to support that person. So I was surprised he was very open about it, but he was not the only one.”

Tom Jones, an East Donegal Township supervisor who chairs the Donegal Area Republican Committee, also supported Miller’s candidacy. Jones won the GOP primary for the 98th Legislative District seat being vacated by retiring Rep. David Hickernell.

Cutler, who helps determine committee assignments, did not return a call seeking comment. His press secretary, Jason Gottesman, said neither he nor Cutler would comment on “internal caucus management decisions.”

Cutler and Aument are high school friends and close political allies; Aument managed Cutler's first campaign for office in 2006.

The House Committee on Committees reported Monday, less than a week after the primary, that Zimmerman had resigned his seats on the Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Appropriations and Insurance committees. It did not provide an explanation. Zimmerman had served as secretary of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee.

The same day, the Committee on Committees reported that Rep. Mike Jones of York County had resigned his committee seats. Jones had bucked his party by endorsing two Republican challengers to Reps. Stan Saylor and Keith Gillespie.

In an interview, Jones said he did not resign but was stripped of his assignments.

He also told abc27: “I take no pleasure in my colleagues losing. Actions have consequences, I’m a grown man.”

Kirk Radanovic, chairman of the Republican Committee of Lancaster County, did not return a call seeking comment about Zimmerman.

Zimmerman appeared at campaign events with Miller and participated in an “exclusive interview” on Miller’s YouTube channel in which Miller lambasted Aument’s record on abortion, an argument Aument has denounced as inaccurate.

In the final days of the campaign, Zimmerman sought to downplay his support of Miller. He wrote on Facebook that he hadn’t officially endorsed any candidate in this cycle.

Aument said he spoke with Zimmerman more than once throughout the primary to ask if he was supporting Miller. Zimmerman, he said, told him that although he had appeared at some events and done interviews with Miller, he had not formally endorsed him and that the Miller campaign was misrepresenting the relationship.

“Dave never indicated to me that he was supporting Mike Miller,” Aument said. “He indicated to me that all of this was done without his permission.”

In other words, Aument said, the Miller campaign was misrepresenting Zimmerman’s support.

Aument said Zimmerman reached out to him after the primary to congratulate him and the two will be meeting to talk soon.

Nonetheless, Zimmerman’s loss of committee assignments has rippled through the far right.

The co-founder of Audit the Vote, which supported Miller in his attempt to unseat Aument, called on members to “swamp bag” Cutler and demand Zimmerman be reinstated to his committees. She also sent out an email questioning, without evidence, the legitimacy of the contest between Miller and Aument and asked supporters to sign petitions for a hand recount of the election. (See related story.)

Ethan Demme, a former chairman of the Lancaster County GOP who has since left the Republican Party to form a new political movement, also raised questions about punishing dissenting voices in a democratic system.

“Fundamentally, leadership in Harrisburg and the party is the incumbent protection program,” he said. “If you challenge that structure, whether your candidate wins or loses, you're going to get punished. That's the best read of this circumstance; people stepped out of line and they’re getting punished for it.”

Demme said he suspects Tom Jones will be sitting on the “same bench as (Mike) Jones and Zimmerman” when he gets to Harrisburg because of his support for Miller.

Demme said that this is not how things should work.

“I'm not a fan of FreePA or Audit the Vote, or Gun Owners of America, but I would say from a good government standpoint, they’re right,” he said.

“One of the problems we have is that the incentive structure we have set up to protect incumbents — no one steps up to challenge that. So people know once they get up to Harrisburg, they’re safe. … Just because you make leadership angry doesn't mean you should be punished.”

He added: “Whether I like the candidates who are being punished or not, they are elected representatives and their voice should be heard in the Legislature.”

Left wing Lancaster Newspapers has been on a mission to discredit Rep Zimmerman at every opportunity for years. Link to the above story below:

Use an incognito browser if paywall pops up
https://lancasteronline.com/news/loc...751f44bd8.html