Greg Rothman

Last updated

Greg Rothman
CG-Rothman2024-26 8x10.jpg
Official portrait, 2024
Chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party
Assumed office
February 8, 2025
Military service
Branch/service
Years of service1991–2001
Rank Staff sergeant
Battles/wars Gulf War

William Gregory Rothman (born December 10, 1966) is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party since 2025. He is also serving as a state senator for Pennsylvania's 34th district since 2023, and previously a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2015 to 2022, representing the 87th district. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Rothman was born on December 10, 1966, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Cumberland Valley High School in 1985. Rothman received a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1989 and a Master of Science in real estate from Johns Hopkins University in 2005. [2] He served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. [3]

Political career

Rothman was chair of the Bush-Cheney 2004 re-election campaign in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. [3] He was a volunteer aide on the Rick Santorum's 2012 presidential campaign, often appearing in Santorum's entourage. [4]

In August 2015, Rothman was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in a special election to fill a vacancy in the 87th House district. [5] [6] The vacancy arose from the resignation of Glen Grell, who stepped down to become executive director of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System. [3] The district included Camp Hill, East Pennsboro Township, and Hampden Township, as well as a part of Silver Spring Township; Rothman lives in Silver Spring Township. He was reelected in 2016, 2018, and 2020. [6] [7]

In 2016, Rothman was the chair of the Cumberland County Republican Party. [8] He supported Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, [9] and was on Trump's team at the 2016 Republican National Convention arranging convention operations. [10] He defended Republican senator Pat Toomey from intra-party critics who asserted that Toomey was insufficiently pro-Trump. [8]

In 2019, Rothman sponsored legislation to shorten the time period for evictions in Pennsylvania. The bill was supported by landlords' organizations and opposed by tenant and low-income housing advocacy organizations. [11] He supports a reduction in Pennsylvania's corporate net income tax and abolition of the state's inheritance tax. Rothman was the leading supporter of legislation, signed into law in 2019, that established 21 as the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, except for active-duty military personnel and honorably discharged veterans, for which the minimum age remained 18. [6] The exemption was criticized by tobacco control groups. [12]

In 2020, Rothman was chair of the House Republican Campaign Committee, leading the campaign efforts for the Pennsylvania House Republicans. [13] [14] [15]

In 2021, as part of Republican efforts to enhance voting credibility following the 2020 presidential election, Rothman supported a bill to rewrite Pennsylvania's election laws by requiring voter ID. [16] governor Tom Wolf vetoed the bill. [17]

In 2022, Rothman was elected to represent the 34th district in the Pennsylvania State Senate. [18]

In December 2024, Lawrence Tabas, chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, announced he would not seek reelection. Rothman declared his candidacy for the chairmanship. He gained support from U.S. senator Dave McCormick and Congressman Dan Meuser. [19] In February 2025, Rothman was elected chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party. [20]

Committee assignments

For the 2025-2026 Session, Rothman sits on the following committees in the State Senate: [21]

Personal life

Rothman has spent several decades in the real estate business. [6] He was a real estate agent and then CEO of RSR Realtors, a real estate company based in Lemoyne. Rothman was also part owner of the Harrisburg Senators, a Minor League Baseball team, and played a key role in moving the team to the state’s capital. [22]

In 1991, Rothman pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of conspiracy to commit forgery. The conviction was later expunged by governor Ed Rendell, who issued Rothman a pardon in January 2011. In 2015, Rothman said that he had learned from his mistake and took responsibility for it. [3]

Electoral history

2015 Pennsylvania House of Representatives special election, District 87
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Greg Rothman 4,202 59.76%
Democratic Robert Charles2,82940.24%
Total votes7,031 100.00%
Republican hold
2016 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 87
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Greg Rothman (incumbent) 22,991 62.68%
Democratic Jim Massey13,68737.32%
Total votes36,678 100.00%
Republican hold
2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 87
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Greg Rothman (incumbent) 18,546 56.61%
Democratic Sean Quinlan14,21443.39%
Total votes32,760 100.00%
Republican hold
2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 87
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Greg Rothman (incumbent) 24,239 55.92%
Democratic Nicole Miller19,10444.08%
Total votes43,343 100.00%
Republican hold
2022 Pennsylvania Senate Republican primary election, District 34
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Greg Rothman 27,666 68.14%
Republican Mike Gossert12,93331.86%
Total votes40,817 100.00%
2022 Pennsylvania Senate election, District 34
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican Greg Rothman 74,238 63.54%
Democratic Jim Massey42,59836.46%
Total votes116,836 100.00%
Republican hold

References

  1. "Senator Greg Rothman". Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Greg Rothman". Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Marroni, Steve (July 8, 2015). "'I did something stupid': GOP candidate in Pa. House race on decades-old charge". The Patriot-News . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  4. Jacobs, Samuel (February 24, 2012). "Now a front-runner, Santorum is still winging it". Reuters. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  5. "SESSION OF 2015 - 199TH OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY - No. 61" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. August 25, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Murphy, Jan (November 29, 2019). "Rep. Greg Rothman to seek re-election to the state House of Representatives". The Patriot-News . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  7. Benscoter, Jana (November 6, 2020). "Rep. Greg Rothman earns third term in Pa.'s 87th House District". The Patriot-News . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Levy, Marc (September 26, 2016). "Toomey tries to use disagreements with Trump to advantage". Associated Press . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  9. Veronikis, Eric (November 9, 2016). "Trump supporters celebrate: 'I hope he really does stick to building the wall'". The Patriot-News . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  10. Tamari, Jonathan (July 19, 2016). "Meet Pa.'s David Urban, Trump tactician and 'traffic controller' at RNC". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  11. Kate Giammarise, Bill would shorten eviction process in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (May 14, 2019).
  12. Meyer, Katie (December 3, 2019). "Pennsylvania restricted tobacco sales. Some tobacco control groups are still uneasy". WHYY. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  13. Scolforo, Mark (May 18, 2020). "Mail voting, new machines feature in Pennsylvania primary". Associated Press . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  14. Scolforo, Mark (April 21, 2021). "Lawmakers take record before voters under new election rules". Associated Press . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  15. Caruso, Stephen (May 29, 2019). "GOP targets House Democrats in Trump districts using viral video of Philly lawmaker harassing anti-abortion protesters". Pennsylvania Capital-Star . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  16. Scolforo, Mark (June 22, 2021). "GOP voting law bill clears state House amid Wolf veto threat". Associated Press . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  17. Scolforo, Mark (June 30, 2021). "Wolf vetoes GOP bill with voter ID, other elections changes". Associated Press . Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  18. Urie, Daniel (November 9, 2022). "After election win, state representative to move to Pa. Senate". PennLIVE Patriot-News . Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  19. Terruso, Julia; McGoldrick, Gillian (December 13, 2024). "Pennsylvania's GOP chairman is not running for reelection, and top Republicans are pushing for a state senator to succeed him". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  20. Lindenmuth, Kaylee (February 8, 2025). "Rothman named chair of Pennsylvania Republican committee". abc27. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  21. "Greg Rothman". Pennsylvania State Senate. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  22. Robert J. Vickers, Election 2012: Sticking close to Rick Santorum is Senators co-owner and Harrisburg-area Realtor Greg Rothman, PennLive (April 8, 2012).
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded byMember of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 87th district

2015–2022
Succeeded by
Pennsylvania State Senate
Preceded by Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 34th district

2023–present
Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Lawrence Tabas
Chair of the Pennsylvania Republican Party
2025–present
Incumbent