What to Know
- Val DiGiorgio is a lawyer who lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania.
- The Pennsylvania Republican Party said that during DiGiorgio's two-plus years as chairman the GOP "shrunk the voter registration gap."
- Pennsylvania will be one of the key swing states in the 2020 presidential election.
Val DiGiorgio, a South Philadelphia native and attorney who rose through Pennsylvania's Republican ranks over three decades, resigned Tuesday as the state's party chairman.
In his resignation letter, DiGiorgio cited "gross mischaracterizations of mutual consensual communications between myself and a former primary candidate" in a "recent media report."
Hours before his resignation was announced by the Pennsylvania GOP in an emailed statement, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a story that detailed monthslong texting between DiGiorgio and Irina Goldstein. The Northeast Philadelphia Republican ran for an at-large City Council seat in the May primary. She finished last among seven Republican candidates.
The Inquirer story reported on sexually charged texts that Goldstein acknowledged both she and DiGiorgio wrote each other.
"My resignation should in no way be confused as confirmation of these of mischaracterizations," DiGiorgio wrote in his resignation letter. "I intend to rigorously defend myself against these assertions and protect my family, my colleagues and the party from this private matter."
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The Republican Party said in its statement that DiGiorgio, who took over as chairman in February 2017, "leaves the party strong and poised for future victories."
Pennsylvania is one of the key swing states expected to decide the 2020 presidential election.
The party vice chairwoman, Bernie Comfort, will serve as acting chair until a permanent replacement is selected.
