Rapho Township Vice-Chairperson Jere Swarr speaks during the supervisors meeting at East Fairview Church of the Brethren in Manheim on Thursday, July 6, 2023.
Connor Hollinger / LNP Correspondent
Former Rapho Township supervisor may bypass county GOP in bid for state Senate
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Jaxon White/WITF
Connor Hollinger / LNP Correspondent
Rapho Township Vice-Chairperson Jere Swarr speaks during the supervisors meeting at East Fairview Church of the Brethren in Manheim on Thursday, July 6, 2023.
This story was updated at 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 4 to remove an incorrect statement regarding Josh Parsons’ position on the county GOP.
A longtime former Rapho Township supervisor said this week that he’s pursuing the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic state Sen. James Malone in northern Lancaster County next year.
Jere Swarr, 67, said despite the Republican Committee of Lancaster County driving most local campaigns, he may not seek its coveted endorsement to run in the 36th Senate District if he thinks members have already made up their mind before the convention early next year.
Either way, Swarr faces a difficult task in securing the GOP nomination.
He’d need to defeat early candidate state Rep. Tom Jones and potentially county Commissioner Josh Parsons, who teased another run for the 36th seat after his historic loss against Malone in a March special election.
Swarr said Parsons’ narrow loss to Malone, which drew national attention during a wave of special elections that swung in Democrats’ favor, inspired him to run.
“That was a reset,” Swarr said. “That’s when I started to get interested and look at the lay of the land.”
Swarr, owner of Sleepy Hollow Motocross Park in Lebanon County, has been a fixture in Lancaster County government since the 1990s. He served as a Rapho Township supervisor from 1994 to 2023 and had previously served on the township’s planning commission.
Swarr led two failed bids for a county commissioner seat — as a Republican in 1999 and as an independent in 2007.
Raised on a Rapho Township farm, Swarr said his Senate campaign and his term, if elected, would focus on supporting farmers and the agriculture industry. He said “true agriculture representation” in the state Senate is lacking.
Pressed on how he would differentiate himself from other Republicans, Swarr cited his three decades in local government and said he would be more inclusive toward his constituents.
“Democrat, liberal, trans, gay, whatever. I’ll represent everybody,” Swarr said.
Swarr also said he would raise the platforms of citizen groups in Pennsylvania looking to work with lawmakers on local issues. He pointed to his efforts to secure approval for a dog park in Mount Joy, which required approval from Rapho Township supervisors.
In 2011, Swarr was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Since then, Swarr said he has regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
“It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you react,” Swarr said about his DUI. “It gives me strength.”
Swarr already has some notable county Republicans in his corner, including campaign adviser Shelley Castetter, who has worked with state Rep. Bryan Cutler of Peach Bottom.
State of the race
Asked about his potential opponents, Malone said he’s focused on his work in the state Senate.
Malone, former mayor of East Petersburg, has made decisions during his short time in the Legislature — like supporting a transgender athlete ban and heavily promoting his role on a committee that approved the state’s repeal of its longtime Sunday hunting ban — that could be seen as an attempt to reach Republican voters.
The 36th District covers 25 municipalities, from Conoy Township to New Holland Borough and Manheim Township to Penn Township.
Some Republicans view Parsons’ loss, driven by Democrats’ successful leveraging of early outrage toward President Donald Trump’s administration, as an amendable mistake next year. They often cite the GOP’s majority of registered voters in the 36th, historically a red district, to argue that it will be an easy flip.
But Democrats have said they’ll support Malone’s reelection with all they have, as the party looks to flip the Republican Party’s 27-23 majority in the state Senate.
Neither Jones nor Parsons immediately responded to a request for comment.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
