With Joe Gale Ousted, Montco Republicans Eye 'United' Ticket

NORRISTOWN, PA — For nearly eight years, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners was relatively the same: led by a pair of long-serving Democrats and challenged at every turn by their anti-establishment Republican foil who faced backlash from his own party.

Within the space of a year, that board will have entirely turned over, Tuesday night's primary election in Pennsylvania confirmed.

Joe Gale, the MAGA-style Republican who has been as vociferous in his frustrations with his county GOP establishment as with those on the left, has finally lost a primary election, according to the unofficial results.

Candidates backed by the party, Limerick Township Supervisor Tom DiBello and Upper Dublin Commissioner Liz Ferry, won convincingly. DiBello had 31,006 votes, Ferry 28,657, and Gale 21,076.

See previous story: Primary Election Results: Montco Board Of Commissioners Changing Shape

DiBello and Ferry face an uphill battle to both get on the board. While the board is always comprised of two from one party and one from another, heavily blue Montgomery County is almost sure to vote for two Democrats. But both the party and the new Republican commissioner hopefuls said they were excited to work on a united ticket.

"On to November, we finally can work together as a team to change Montgomery County for the better," DiBello said Tuesday night. "Its time to Win. Congratulations to Liz Ferry. Thank you for the years of service to Joe Gale."

“For the first time in over 10 years we will have a unified Republican ticket running for both seats on the County commission board," Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Christian Nascimento shared on the party's social media page.

Gale did not make an immediate public comment on the race.

On the Democratic side, Jamila Winder, the former chair of the East Norriton Township Board of Supervisors who replaced Val Arkoosh earlier this year, won easily. She'll be joined on the ballot by Penn professor and civil rights activist Neil Makhija. Full unofficial results from the Democratic side are below:

• Winder - 54,744
• Makhija - 38,458
• Kimberly Koch - 31,105
• Tanya Bamford - 24,309
• Noah Marlier - 17,055

Winder had run with Koch as her informal "running mate," but the two were not able to advance together. Winder had outgoing Commissioner Ken Lawrence's endorsement, while Makhija represents the more progressive side of the party, touting endorsements from U.S. Sen. John Fetterman.

Makhija and Winder did not immediately comment on their unofficial victories Tuesday night. Winder already has a track record as a commissioner in the style of Lawrence and Arkoosh, while Makhija has vowed to fight for many of the same policies taken on by Fetterman: "protecting our right to vote, reforming our criminal justice system, and expanding access to mental healthcare," he said this week.

Regardless of the exact outcome of the general election, 2024 will see an entirely different board than 2023 began with. Arkoosh, Lawrence, and Gale comprised the leadership team that helmed the county through the pandemic and multiple contentious election cycles, though it wasn't without controversy, as the Democrats and Gale frequently clashed. The response to the pandemic, particularly, was attended by the most vitriol, and how this local government responded to and was shaped by COVID-19 will likely be the most memorable legacy of this era of county politics.