00:07 - We're joined by Senator Gregg Rothman, chair of the Pennsylvania

00:09 - Republican Party.

00:10 - What significance do political parties have today?

00:13 - So in contemporary America, at least for the last,

00:16 - probably 100 years, we've had political parties, maybe 150.

00:20 - And it allows people to identify, they know where they stand

00:25 - on certain issues.

00:26 - And, you know, the parties formed,

00:29 - in order to promote certain candidates and certain ideas.

00:33 - And so we currently have a two party system in America and in Pennsylvania

00:37 - we have Republicans, Democrats, but then we have

00:39 - hundreds of other parties, but they're minor parties.

00:42 - And those are the two major parties.

00:44 - You serve as chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.

00:46 - What does that role entail? So I was elected.

00:49 - There are 380 members of state committee and 67 county chairs.

00:53 - So I represent all of them.

00:56 - And, we we organized the rest of the Republican Party.

00:59 - So whether it's a local party,

01:01 - like a local municipal party through the county parties,

01:04 - and then we're the liaison to the National Party.

01:06 - And so we work with our national party.

01:08 - So we have one message.

01:10 - And, you know, we promote our candidates together, both our national candidates

01:14 - and our local candidates.

01:16 - What are some of the basic foundations of being a Republican?

01:18 - So our Republican Party started back in the 1860s,

01:22 - or actually before 1860, with, the issue of slavery.

01:27 - The Republican Party believe that, slavery was wrong.

01:31 - We nominated, a young man out of Illinois named Abraham Lincoln.

01:35 - He was the first Republican Party nominee.

01:37 - And we believe that people have inalienable rights and that,

01:41 - while, you know, there's no guarantee of success in life,

01:45 - that everyone ought to have the same opportunity,

01:47 - regardless of your race or your color or your sex or gender.

01:51 - And so that that has stayed true throughout the years

01:55 - that we're the party, the beliefs and opportunity and the individual,

01:59 - and, we believe

02:00 - in freedom and and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

02:03 - Yeah. That that continues on today.

02:06 - What does the state party do to recruit candidates?

02:09 - So we spent a lot of time recruiting candidates.

02:11 - We we believe that having the message is great.

02:15 - Being having common sense ideas is great.

02:17 - Having results. And we were able to show results.

02:20 - Like, you can see Republican principles right now have brought down inflation and

02:24 - and stopped the, the, illegal immigration at the border

02:27 - and has given people an opportunity for the economy to grow.

02:31 - And, but we spent a lot of time talking to people who may not be,

02:36 - in the political world, but may be successful in something else,

02:39 - especially in the private sector and in business, and recruiting them to run.

02:43 - I mean, someone who has experience, you know, whether it's,

02:46 - running a small business or, working in health care.

02:49 - You know, we believe it.

02:50 - Those people ought to have a voice in government, too.

02:53 - And we think that's what the founders wanted.

02:55 - They didn't want professional politicians.

02:57 - They wanted people who had real life experiences.

02:59 - What does the state party do during a primary election?

03:02 - So we pick a candidate, to then be our nominee.

03:06 - And so sometimes we endorse candidates and other times we don't, if we think

03:11 - that there's one candidate that's better than the other than we endorse,

03:15 - we have a very important gubernatorial race coming up in 2026.

03:19 - So I've directed state committee and we're working on getting them.

03:23 - If if ultimately it's a Democratic decision within our party

03:26 - to we're going to try to find a candidate to run in 2026 for governor.

03:30 - And we want to endorse him early on.

03:32 - So that they have an opportunity to be united and,

03:35 - against, running against Governor Shapiro.

03:38 - What is the benefit of a state party endorsement?

03:41 - So it just brings the party together and sends a message

03:44 - to the rank and file voters that this is who we recommend.

03:48 - Ultimately, it's a decision of the voters. But,

03:51 - we hope that they look to the

03:52 - party and say we have the discernment where we're elected to represent you.

03:56 - It's almost like a republic, where people elect their state

04:00 - committee members and then they make the decisions on behalf of them,

04:03 - which is really the system we have for our state and federal government to.

04:07 - We're I'm a state senator.

04:09 - I'm elected to go make decisions on your behalf.

04:12 - If you don't like the way

04:12 - I make decisions, you have a chance every four years to vote me out.

04:16 - But on the other hand,

04:18 - you know, I, I'm there to try to make the decisions which are

04:21 - what are best for the whole Commonwealth, not just my district.

04:25 - You know, as you just mentioned, you also serve as a state senator.

04:27 - How did you initially get involved in in public service?

04:30 - Yeah, I, I was in the private sector.

04:33 - I was always interested in politics, in government.

04:36 - I believed in, Abraham Lincoln said government of for

04:39 - and by the people that you have to be involved.

04:41 - But I was, I served in the Marine Corps.

04:43 - I was involved in community organizations and was running a business

04:47 - and raising my family.

04:48 - And, then as those things,

04:52 - I felt comfortable and all those things, I spent a lot of time

04:55 - working that I thought, I can give something back.

04:57 - And, I ran for state representative and served for seven years in the state House.

05:01 - And then after redistricting, got elected to the state Senate.

05:05 - So, I, I believe that we need people that have different experiences

05:09 - in Harrisburg and not just have spent their whole lives

05:12 - in politics, their whole lives in government.

05:14 - In your work as a state senator, what issues do you deal with that

05:18 - most affect Pennsylvania's students?

05:20 - Yeah.

05:20 - The biggest thing is that, you know, we pass a budget, so we

05:24 - we take money from the taxpayers

05:26 - and from our businesses, and then we decide how it's spent.

05:29 - And so, where half of our,

05:32 - our schools are funded by their half of the school budget

05:35 - is funded by local taxes, they also get state taxes, too.

05:39 - And then we create, regulations and rules and mandates

05:43 - and decide, you know, how how your schools work.

05:47 - We want to make sure there's an opportunity for every child to learn.

05:49 - We want to make sure that kids are graduating from high school

05:52 - and going through school, learning how to read, write, and think critically.

05:56 - It's not about what they are being,

05:58 - told to think, but given them the ability to think.

06:02 - And we want to give them an opportunity.

06:03 - Education is the great equalizer,

06:06 - and we need the young people to stay in Pennsylvania

06:08 - after they graduate from high school or college.

06:10 - We have these great schools,

06:12 - we import students to come to our great colleges and universities,

06:15 - but then they leave and they they take one of our natives with them.

06:18 - So we need to change the demographics

06:21 - in Pennsylvania, where people want to live in their state.

06:23 - And it's the best state in the country.

06:24 - So we think they should want to live here.

06:26 - It's a state that has all the seasons.

06:29 - We've got incredible natural resources, great parks.

06:32 - And, it's easy to, you know, that to have in one week,

06:36 - the same season, which we saw last week.

06:41 - So we want people to stay in Pennsylvania.

06:43 - What's a typical day like for you?

06:45 - So I get up pretty early, am usually like 6:00 in the morning.

06:49 - I try to work out,

06:51 - and then spend time with my kids.

06:53 - I've got some little kids, so make sure before they go to school.

06:55 - Now they're out of school, we make sure that,

06:57 - they get dressed and have breakfast and we talk a little bit,

07:01 - and then I'm usually in the capital or in my district office or in the district,

07:06 - spent a lot of time in meetings and on phones talking about things.

07:09 - And then I typically get home, you know, 7:00,

07:14 - and then that's a couple hours of reading stuff

07:17 - and, reading materials and, I do a lot of events.

07:21 - I get to spend time celebrating people's, you know, good things.

07:25 - You know, we got Eagle Scouts and business opening ribbon, ribbon cuttings and,

07:30 - and then also solving problems or where people have issues with the state

07:33 - and trying to, to help them.

07:35 - So no day's really the same, but, it's,

07:39 - a combination of constituent services and being out and about.

07:44 - I don't think I can properly represent my constituents out

07:47 - knowing what's going on in their lives.

07:48 - So I try to be out and about and I,

07:52 - and then, legislate being in the Capitol.

07:54 - I have the benefits.

07:55 - I live, you know, five miles from the Capitol.

07:57 - So I don't really have a long commute to get to work.

08:01 - So I spend a lot of time in the capital, too,

08:03 - particularly in your work as a state senator.

08:05 - How do you find a balance between partizanship and compromise?

08:08 - Well, ultimately, we live in a system where,

08:11 - and especially with a Democratic governor

08:13 - and a Democratic House of Representatives, that we have to work together.

08:16 - And so when I ran a business, it was about finding what we had in common

08:20 - and bringing people together.

08:22 - And so as a as a legislator, I'm always looking for opportunities

08:26 - that I mean, I think ideas come from both sides.

08:28 - I have I have principles that I don't want to compromise

08:32 - and shouldn't have to compromise.

08:33 - But most of the time it's it's not about principles.

08:37 - It's just about compromise in, you know, tweaking ideas.

08:41 - And so I've always reached out to the other side, and I had great

08:45 - relationships with Democrats, even though I'm

08:46 - the Republican Party chairman, because ultimately

08:49 - we're all Pennsylvanians and we're all human beings. And,

08:54 - we just have different agreements

08:56 - maybe on on taste, not on principle. And,

09:00 - in order to get legislation done, you gotta have the Democrats

09:03 - support it in the House.

09:04 - You have to have the governor is Democrat supported to sign it.

09:06 - I've only had a Democratic governor my entire ten years in the legislature.

09:10 - So, at least, you know, try to be civil.

09:13 - And, and that's, I think, important for our system of government to

09:17 - why is it important to be aware of what happens in state government?

09:19 - Well, because it affects your life.

09:21 - I mean, it's we take money from you and, we regulate

09:25 - you and we, have laws that, you know, we saw it with Covid.

09:30 - We can tell you you have to stay home and we can tell you

09:32 - you can't go to school, you can't go to your graduation party.

09:35 - And by the way, I disagree with all that because I, I truly believe that people

09:40 - should be able to make the decisions for themselves, and they will,

09:43 - and they'll make the right decisions if we let them.

09:45 - But if, if we let government get out of control, they will control your life.

09:50 - And, and that's important for us to stand up to them.

09:52 - And and that's the fundamental difference

09:53 - right now between Democrats and Republicans, where Republicans say

09:57 - you have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

10:01 - And, the Democrats say, well, you know, it should be up to the government

10:05 - to decide whether you have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

10:08 - And we'll make you happy.

10:09 - So what advice would you give young people who want to become civically involved?

10:14 - I think getting involved is important.

10:15 - I mean, that's that's the most important.

10:17 - I tell young people, when you're at 16, you're going to get a driver's license

10:20 - so you can control your life.

10:22 - Well, you need to be involved.

10:23 - Yes. Register to vote at 18.

10:24 - You need to be involved and in the process to pay attention to what's going on.

10:28 - It affects all aspects of your life.

10:30 - And the problem is, if we leave it only up to the politicians

10:34 - now, then we're going to get results that we don't like.

10:37 - So, it's way too serious to be left to politicians.

10:39 - So you need everybody involved.

10:41 - It's your government and they need to run for office.

10:43 - They need to be educated about issues.

10:45 - They need to vote.

10:46 - They need to advocate on things that are important to them,

10:49 - and they need to communicate with their elected officials.

10:51 - That's how we be the best Republican

10:53 - representatives in a Republican system, too.

10:56 - Senator Greg Rothman serves as the chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.

10:59 - Thank you for joining us. Thank you for having me.