Chester County resident to run against Houlahan in 6th Congressional Dist. – Daily Local
A Chester County real estate agent who said he believes the country he grew up in in the 1990s is fractured and that the nation appears torn apart, has announced he will be joining the race to win the to become a Republican candidate for the 6th congressional district, which now includes Chester County and is part of Berks County.
Ron Vogel, who speaks of the inspiration he gets from his unborn child, who was a victim of a traffic accident half a decade ago, laid out his conservative bonafides in his announcement letter earlier his month, citing fiscal responsibility, border security and protecting children and families as priorities.
“I will not stand by and watch the America we all love fall apart,” he said in an email explaining his decision to run for the November 2022 nomination that saw him defeat the incumbent Democratic US MP Chrissy Houlahan would run for election.
“The world is so different today than it was when I was growing up thirty years ago,” said the 36-year-old graduate of Downingtown’s Bishop Shanahan High School. “The world now feels strained, troubled, fragmented, (with) opportunities that are hard to come by, especially for young people.
“I made a decision to serve the people and give back to the country that helped me achieve the American Dream,” Vogel said in his email announcement. “I am committed to going to Washington, DC to fight for all Americans, especially children, that the future may be filled with peace, love, prosperity, liberty, and opportunity.”
Vogel is the third man to announce plans to run against Houlahan, who was elected to Congress in 2018 as the first Democrat to represent Chester County since the Civil War. Others include Birmingham businessman and consultant Steve Fanelli and Thornbury chemical engineer Bob Kennedy. All three never held elective office or ran for office prior to this cycle.
In his letter to GOP committees in the two neighboring counties, Vogel vowed to “bring common sense back to Washington, and I will promote the ideals set forth in the Constitution.”
However, he appeared to dodge the issue that has been roiling the Republican Party in Pennsylvania since November 2020, when the state’s electoral votes were awarded to Democrat Joe Biden, pushing him over the threshold to lead the presidential election over incumbent Republican President Donald Trump to win.
Since then, the defeated Trump and many of his supporters in the state have consistently peddled the false narrative that Biden’s victory came through unproven fraud and that Trump should have rightfully won the state’s electoral vote and, in turn, a second term in the White House.
Asked if he supports the idea that Biden won over fraud, Vogel responded by attacking Democrats’ efforts to promote voting rights across the country in federal legislation being debated Tuesday in the US Senate. Houlahan has been a vocal supporter of such efforts.
“The integrity of the elections is paramount,” he said in a separate email. “If voters lack confidence in the election, their representatives should work to restore that confidence. It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat.
“Unfortunately, bad proposals cleverly disguised under names like the ‘Voting Rights Act’ do nothing to ensure the security of elections,” he said. “On the contrary, they are just a wish list by Democrats of ways to fundamentally change the way elections are run and strip states of power. Instead, we should focus on giving states the resources they need to hold free and fair elections with better security features, as states see fit.”
Vogel said he grew up in Glenmoore. A graduate of Shippensburg University, he now works for Remax Achievers in Collegeville, Montgomery County, having previously owned his own business and worked as a day stock trader.
He and his wife Shelby now live in Charlestown with their three children. In June 2016, tragedy struck when Vogel’s wife was injured in a hit-and-run car accident, killing their unborn daughter. “I am inspired by Eva Elizabeth, my daughter who resides in heaven, whom I have promised to honor by devoting my life to helping others,” he said.
“My legislative priorities will help struggling families achieve the American Dream. For example, I’m going to use my background in real estate to push for a bill for a homebuyer savings account. It will help Americans save tax-free for their home. It’s such a sensible idea that both Congressional Republicans and Joe Biden have publicly expressed their support for it,” Vogel said.
He also said he will work to reform federal student loan programs, which he claimed are “crippling our grads and encouraging colleges to raise tuition.” We must practice thrift and only lend that can reasonably be repaid. Our economy simply cannot handle a bubble burst right now, especially combined with historic inflation.”
The GOP opponent vs. Houlahan, who won office in 2018 and 2020 by aggregates of 58 percent and 56 percent over her GOP challengers and has no major opponent in her party, will be elected in the upcoming spring primary, now scheduled for May 17 , although that date may be pushed back as the state grapples with map drawing through the Legislature and Congress. A Republican proposal in Harrisburg would move much of the 6th Circuit north into rural Berks County, although another map endorsed by Gov. Tom Wolf shows the district remains largely the same, encompassing all of Chester County and southern Berks County .
The Chester County Republican Committee has tentatively scheduled its nominating convention for February 15 after a series of interviews with local committees and straw votes.
Call 610-696-1544 to contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan.