There is a dustup in the Montgomery County Republican Committee involving the local committee in Upper Merion. The party has requested that Matthew McCaffery, the chair of the Upper Merion committee, participate in a disciplinary hearing on August 7th following his July 3rd op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer explaining why, as a Republican, he cannot vote for former President Donald Trump in 2024. McCaffery lives in a portion of Upper Merion with a Conshohocken address and West Conshohocken falls within the Upper Merion Republican Committee area.
From the op-ed:
With the passing of Memorial Day, the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and July Fourth, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the state of the country. I’m a lifelong conservative, a combat veteran, a local Republican committee chairman in Upper Merion, and the former vice-mayor of the city of New Port Richey, Fla. I served in the military, and I’m proud to have defended our country in battle.
As a former Trump voter, I can never forget that he never cared for me or my brothers and sisters in the armed forces.
In the op-ed, McCaffery points to comments that Trump was accused of making in 2020 while in France. While President, Trump was accused of referring to soldiers who had lost their lives fighting in World War II as “suckers” and “losers.” Trump has denied making such comments.
The Montgomery County Republican Committee declined to comment when MoreThanTheCurve.com inquired about the hearing via email. “As a private organization, we don’t comment on disciplinary matters nor are any hearings open to the public or press, shared Giana DePaul, executive director of the Montgomery County Republican Committee.
According to McCaffery, his main tasks as the committee’s chair are to recruit potential candidates for local office, build the committee by recruiting new members, and, on election day, assist with “manning the polls” to hand out literature about Republican candidates and answer any questions voters may have.
MoreThanTheCurve.com asked if he intends to assist the Trump campaign while not voting for the former President. McCaffery shared, “As a matter of principle, I cannot support or help the Trump Campaign. I have been more than clear to my fellow committee members, ever since getting elected in 2022, that I will not under any circumstance support Donald Trump. I was adamant that we needed to rebrand and appeal to independent votes and centrist democrats…especially in Montgomery County, where my party is getting crushed election after election. I tried my best to move the party away from the Trump chaos…I clearly failed.”
In a follow-up, MoreThanTheCurve.com asked why he did not resign as the chair since Trump is the endorsed candidate and it is the committee’s role to support him. McCaffery stated, “I was elected by the people of Gulph 2. I was upfront about my intentions. I will let the voters decide in 2026 if they no longer want me to serve. I’m a Marine, we don’t quit.”
Photo: McCaffery in front of Adhamiyah Palace in Iraq, after the last major firefight during the fall of Baghdad, on April 10, 2003. McCaffery was a member of the1st Battalion 5th Marines Weapons Company.