Bretz reelected to head Westmoreland GOP

Westmoreland County Republican Committee members have reelected Bill Bretz as their chairman to oversee the local GOP for the next two years.

Bretz, 52, was unopposed in his bid for a third term at the helm of the Republican committee which over the last decade has surged into power in Westmoreland County. The GOP held its reorganization meeting June 27 at Hempfield Park.

“We have a very unified foundation in terms of what we as a committee are able to accomplish. It’s a good sign as we go forward into the fall and it will enable us to continue what we’ve been doing for the last several years,” Bretz said.

Bretz has been the county’s GOP committee chairman since 2020. He was elected to a six-year term as a Hempfield township supervisor in 2021.

Steve Cleaveland, the chairman of the North Huntingdon-Irwin Republican committee, was elected as vice chairman of the county committee and Jerry Radebaugh, president of the Hempfield Area School Board, was named party treasurer. Cleaveland and Radebaugh are new to GOP leadership, replacing former vice chairman Jon Wian and Treasurer Gabe Homan who did not seek new terms on the committee.

Republicans hold nearly every state and county elected office in Westmoreland County while having a significant edge in voter registration over Democrats after decades of being in the minority. Republicans in 2019 overtook the Democrats and as of Monday account for nearly 51% of all registered voters in the county.

According to state data, there are 125,296 registered Republicans in the county. Democrats account for more than 36% of the county’s voters with nearly 90,300 in their ranks.