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McCabe will be the next Mahoning County Republican chairman
YOUNGSTOWN
Thomas McCabe will succeed Mark Munroe as Mahoning County Republican Party chairman, and says he’s “looking forward to the challenge.”
McCabe, the party’s first vice chairman and the county board of elections deputy director, was the only person to apply for the position. The party’s central committee will vote Thursday to make it official.
Mahoning Republicans “have made good progress, but there is still much work to do,” Munroe said. “I’m excited about Tom becoming chairman. I am confident that under his leadership we can take our success to the next level. It won’t happen overnight and there will be disappointments along the way, but it’s important that we continue the work to bring political balance to the Valley.”
McCabe said Munroe has established “a really good base in terms of fundraising and our volunteers. He’s made us a party with a lot of potential.”
McCabe has been active in the local Republican Party for more than two decades, served as the state central committeeman from the area and has worked at the board of elections for 20 years.
“I’ve got a lot of history with the party,” he said. “This is still a Democratic county. They have the numbers and the vote totals. It’s an uphill battle, but it’s getting better.”
In November 2018, Republicans captured the county’s state House and Senate seats for the first time in decades.
Munroe announced Jan. 19 that he would retire as party chairman effective Thursday.
Munroe was the party’s longtime first vice chairman when he was elected chairman in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014, and won a third four-year term in June 2018. But Munroe said at the time that he planned to “step down before my term is over.”
McCabe was elected first vice chairman last June with the expectation that he would succeed Munroe when the latter retired.
Munroe sent a letter to the party’s central committee members endorsing McCabe.
He wrote: McCabe “has a great sense of political history and his instinct for politics is impressive. He understands politics, elections and the inner workings of government, and I am offering him my full support and endorsement.”
Munroe added: “Every election year is important, but 2019 will be ‘relatively’ quiet, making it a good time to transition to a new chairman to help prepare for 2020. I encourage you to support Tom as he runs for chairman. Your support afterward will be even more important. No chairman, no matter how good or talented, can succeed without help – lots of it.”