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WILKES-BARRE — Ron Ferrance has resigned as chairman of the Luzerne County Republican Party.
Ferrance said Thursday the time demands of being chairman are great and unfortunately are more than he can continue to give.
“Working with the great grassroots volunteers, turning the county more Republican and helping deliver the White House for Trump will be things I always remember,” Ferrance said. “As far as who will replace me, I do not know.”
When Ferrance assumed the post in July 2016, he planned to boost the party’s grassroots efforts in the county. Ferrance won the chairman’s gavel by a secret ballot vote of 82-62, immediately assuming the reigns from outgoing chairman Bill Urbanski.
Currently, there are 106,237 Democrats registered to vote in the county, compared to 76,226 Republicans, though the number of Republicans has gone up over the last two years.
“Normally, the vice chair would automatically take the role. However, he resigned as well,” Ferrance said in reference to Dave Baloga.
Efforts to independently confirm Baloga’s departure were not immediately successful Thursday.
Tuesday’s general election brought mixed results for Republican candidates in Luzerne County.
U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, the Hazleton native who was challenging Sen. Bob Casey for a U.S. Senate seat, won the county with 54 percent of the vote, but lost his bid statewide.
Republican businessman Dan Meuser, who challenged Democrat Denny Wolff, won his bid for the 9th Congressional District seat with 64 percent of the vote in this county.
But Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf won re-election statewide, capturing 52 percent of the county vote.
And U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, the Lackawanna County Democrat whose district includes parts of Luzerne County, won his bid for re-election over challenger John Chrin with 53 percent of the vote in Luzerne County.