July 24, 2022 Howey Politics Indiana sponsored by Wine + Spirits Distributors of Indiana

SENATE REPUBLICANS PAIR ABORTION BAN WITH SERVICE BOOST:  Indiana Republican lawmakers are pairing a proposal to ban nearly all abortions in the state with promises to boost spending toward helping pregnant women, young children and adoptions (AP). Republicans say the proposals show dedication to mothers and babies. Democrats say Republicans have underfunded such programs for years and rejected earlier efforts to help pregnant women. A proposal from Senate Republicans would allocate $45 million more in the coming year toward state agencies that “support the health of pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and infants” through pregnancy planning and access to contraception, especially among low-income families. The support would be available for families with children under four years old and comes along with an estimated $5 million increase in tax credits for adoptive families. “For those people who are childbearing age who have children that they’re not equipped to take care of, we want the state of Indiana to assist them in bringing healthy babies into this world and taking care of them after they get here,” said Republican Sen. Sue Glick of LaGrange, who is sponsoring the abortion ban bill. A separate bill from House Republicans aims to expand the adoption tax credit and directs $58 million toward bolstering services for pregnant women, including $30 million for pregnancy-related costs under the Medicaid program for low-income families.

PPP SURVEY SHOWS HOOSIERS OPPOSE ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: As Indiana legislators reconvene for a special session to consider abortion restrictions in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, a survey released by Public Policy Polling shows that such a ban is unpopular with voters in the state (Howey Politics Indiana). It comes as Indiana Right to Life and the ACLU are planning mid-day rallies at the Indiana Statehouse on Monday as the General Assembly convenes in special session to consider abortion restrictions. According to the poll of 770 registered Indiana voters, conducted July 14-15 by Public Policy Polling, 71% of Hoosiers say it is important to them that people in their state have access to all reproductive health care options, including abortion. This includes 58% of Republicans and 62% of Independents. The survey also finds strong opposition in Indiana to measures being considered by states banning abortion: 91% of Hoosiers oppose a law that could result in a criminal investigation against someone who has a miscarriage; 91% agree that doctors should be able to help their patients experiencing pregnancy complications and miscarriages without fear of being charged with a felony; 83% oppose fining or imprisoning someone who crosses state lines to get an abortion if it is banned in their home state; 81% oppose allowing individuals to sue people they believe helped someone obtain an abortion; and 77% oppose charging someone who has an abortion with a felony.

VP HARRIS TO VISIT STATEHOUSE MONDAY: Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to the Indiana Statehouse Monday to oppose legislation banning most abortions in Indiana (IBJ). It’s the same day a special legislative session kicks off addressing both abortion and a possible taxpayer refund. A Republican proposal would ban abortion starting at conception – with the only exceptions being in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly or to save the life of the mother. The White House confirmed Harris will meet with state legislators and leaders “to discuss the fight to protect reproductive rights” during a roundtable. The visit will shine a spotlight on Indiana, which is the first state legislature to debate a new abortion law in the post-Roe v. Wade world. The U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down abortion rights in Dobbs v. Jackson – sending the decision to the states.

TRUMP/PENCE AZ SHOWDOWN WAS ONE-SIDED:  It was billed as a split screen proxy war in the desert: Donald Trump versus Mike Pence in a midterm election skirmish that would provide an early indication about the future of the GOP (Politico). It ended up more like a varsity-JV scrimmage. The Republican Party landscape, in Arizona at least, remains tilted sharply towards Trump. And those who came to watch the former president speak seemed to know it. They rallied on Friday in a bunting-clad arena wearing “Still my president” T-shirts, offering wild conspiracies about the last election and certainty that Trump would win the next one. For them, Pence — and every vestige of the old, establishment wing of the GOP — is in the past. “He was a good guy,” one attendee said. “I don’t have an opinion on [Pence],” said another, who was eager to persuade Trump to “head up a liquidation of the federal government” if elected.

NYPOST SAYS ‘TRUMP DID NOTHING’: As his followers stormed the Capitol, calling for his vice president to be hanged, President Donald Trump sat in his private dining room, watching TV, doing nothing. For three hours, seven minutes. There has been much debate over whether Trump’s rally speech on Jan. 6, 2021, constituted “incitement.” That’s somewhat of a red herring. What matters more — and has become crystal clear in recent days — is that Trump didn’t lift a finger to stop the violence that followed (New York Post). And he was the only person who could stop what was happening. He was the only one the crowd was listening to. It was incitement by silence. Trump only wanted one thing during that infamous afternoon: to pressure Vice President Mike Pence to decertify the election of Joe Biden. He was watching television for the entire span of time the riots were taking place. Trump waited over three hours to respond to the Capitol riot. He thought the violence of his loyal followers would make Pence crack, or delay the vote altogether. To his eternal shame, as appalled aides implored him to publicly call on his followers to go home, he instead further fanned the flames by tweeting: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.” His only focus was to find any means — damn the consequences — to block the peaceful transfer of power. There is no other explanation, just as there is no defense, for his refusal to stop the violence.

INDIANA SUMMER NIGHTS WARMING UP: Summer nights across the U.S. are warming twice as fast as summer days — and they can be dangerous to your health. That’s according to the independent researching and reporting collaboration Climate Central (Thiele, Indiana Public Media). In most of the Indiana cities it studied, the average summer low temperatures have warmed by at least 1 degree since 1970. Indianapolis had the biggest increase where average summer low temps have gone up by more than 3 degrees. Beth Hall directs the Indiana State Climate Office and the Midwestern Regional Climate Center. She said we generally think of the dangers of summer heat during the day — but changes in those overnight lows are a greater concern with climate change. “Historically, that’s when the temperatures cool off. That’s when we could open the windows at night and we get a break from those oppressive daytime temperatures,” Hall said.

BRIDGE NAMED AFTER CPL. SANCHEZ:  The State Road 25 bridges over the Wabash River in Logansport have been named after a fallen hometown hero. The Indiana Department of Transportation joined state and local officials to rename the bridges as the “Corporal Humberto Abiel Sanchez USMC” Memorial Bridges (WLFI-TV). As News 18 has previously reported, Crp. Humberto Sanchez was killed in action after a suicide bombing at Harmid Karzi International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Several people in the Logansport community, including Corporal Sanchez’s extended family, joined the ceremony. Humberto’s mother, Coral Bariseno, says the renaming will carry his name on for ages to come.

UKRAINE REFUGEES FINDING CLOSED BORDER: Ukrainians fleeing war in their homeland found open arms across the West. But for many, reaching the United States proved to be an arduous journey charged by border politics (Washington Post). Some, like Maxim Blyzniuk and Oksana Ilchishena arrived in Mexico and made it across the border with their families into the United States, only to encounter hardship on the other side. Others, like Inna Dunai, a mother of five, flew across an ocean only to find the U.S. border shut — leaving them trapped in an unfamiliar foreign country, confused and disillusioned. They found help from fellow Ukrainians in the U.S. and Mexican diasporas. Tech entrepreneur Artur Kiulian and psychologist Ilona Dluzhynska were among those who rallied support and resources. But the road ahead, with all of the complicated politics of war and borders, remains uncertain.

HODGES, MINOSO TO BE ENSHRINED IN COOPERSTOWN: Princeton-born and former Dodgers standout Gil Hodges is set to be immortalized in baseball history this weekend as a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He will be enshrined along with Chicago White Sox great Minnie Minoso and Minnesota Twins greats Jim Kaat and Tony Oliva. Back in December, 14 Sports reported that Hodges was finally voted into the Hall of Fame by the Golden Days Era Committee, which recognizes candidates who made their contributions to the game between 1950 and 1969. Hodges, who starred as a four-sport athlete at Petersburg High School, played 18 years as a first baseman in the major leagues, winning two World Series titles with the Dodgers. As a manager, he also led the Miracle Mets team to the 1969 championship. The eight-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner amassed 370 home runs in his career, which ranked third-most by a right-handed hitter when he retired in 1963.

HPI DAILY ANALYSIS: Monday will be a crazy day around the Statehouse, with the start of the special session, dual pro-life and pro-choice rallies, and an appearance by Vice President Kamala Harris. – Brian A. Howey

Campaigns

INDEMS AIM ABORTION AD AT GOP: The Indiana Democratic Party plans to blanket the Statehouse with a 15-second ad decrying new abortion restrictions likely to come in a special session scheduled to start — in earnest — on Monday (Capital Chronicle). Anyone in and around the Indiana Statehouse who opens Facebook or Instagram will encounter the ad, titled “These guys?” for two weeks beginning then. “Decisions about a woman’s health should be up to her, her family and her doctor. Period,” the ad reads. “In Indiana, Republican lawmakers think it should be them.” While zooming out on rows of Republican lawmakers’ headshots, the ad asks, “Who should be calling the shots for women? These guys?” It ends with a shot of a woman and finishes, “Or her?”

TRUMP CALLS SPEAKER BOWERS ‘RINO COWARD’: Former President Trump called Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) a “RINO coward,” using the acronym for “Republican in name only,” and reiterated his support for his endorsed candidate who is vying for a state Senate seat against Bowers (The Hill). “Rusty Bowers is a RINO coward who participated against the Republican Party in the totally partisan unselect committee of political thugs and hacks the other day and disgraced himself, and he disgraced the state of Arizona,” Trump said during a rally held in the Grand Canyon State for several of his endorsees.

Polls

MOST DON’T WANT HILLARY TO RUN: Media rumors suggest Hillary Clinton may be planning a comeback, but voters overwhelmingly don’t want her to make another White House run in 2024. However, voters also aren’t keen on other failed candidates who have previously sought the presidency. A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports finds that 69% of Likely U.S. voters believe Clinton shouldn’t run for president again in 2024, while just 20% think the former Secretary of State should run again.

State

GOVERNOR: THOUSAND HEALTH WORKERS WRITE HOLCOMB OVER ABORTION – More than a thousand Indiana health care providers signed two letters to express concerns about the proposed abortion legislation lawmakers will vote on during the special session that starts Monday, July 25 (Yousry, Indiana Public Media). The proposed bill would ban abortion with limited exceptions for rape, incest and if the prengnacy poses a risk to the life of the pregnant person. In one letter addressing Gov. Eric Holcomb and state legislators, 11 health groups – including the Indiana State Medical Association and the Indiana section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – said the language in the proposed bill makes it hard for providers to judge when a medical procedure falls within the purview of the law. “The problem is medicine doesn’t really work like that,” said Dr. Carrie Rouse, co-chair of the legislative committee for the Indiana section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a maternal fetal medicine physician with Riley Children’s Health. “We don’t always know when something is going to tip over from being health threatening into life threatening, and our main job is to try and predict and prevent significant complications that could impair the health and certainly the life of that pregnant person.”

ECONOMY: JOBLESS RATE TICKS UP IN JUNE – Indiana’s unemployment rate rose from 2.2% in May to 2.4% in June while the national rate held steady at 3.6%, according to numbers released Friday by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IBJ). June’s numbers broke a string of three months in which the state’s unemployment rate rested at 2.2%. It dropped from 2.3% in February to 2.2% in March. That was a record dating back at least to 1976, when the current method of compiling unemployment rates began. June’s rate of 2.4% still was a far cry from the mid-teen highs seen in the first months of the pandemic in 2020. Meanwhile, the state’s labor force participation improved from 62.6% in April and 62.9% in May to 63.1% in June, which was slightly higher than the 62.2% national rate. The labor force participation rate indicates the percentage of all people of working age who are employed or are actively seeking work.

ISP: TROOPER INJURED IN CRASH – A state trooper investigating an incident on a northwestern Indiana freeway was injured when a passing car struck a firetruck and another vehicle. The trooper was standing on eastbound Interstate 94 in Hammond about 2 a.m. Saturday when a speeding Dodge Charger struck the firetruck and a Subaru, state police said (AP). The Subaru spun out of control and hit a Dodge Journey stopped on the freeway’s shoulder. The Journey was pushed and pinned the trooper between it and a concrete barrier. State police said the trooper freed himself. He was treated at a hospital and later released. The Charger’s 23-year-old driver was arrested after running from the crash. His 23-year-old passenger suffered serious injuries and was being treated at a hospital.

INDOT: MID-STATE CORRIDOR HEARINGS END – Public hearings for the Mid-States’ Corridor ended this summer. People offered feedback on the preferred route selected which is set to run through Daviess, Martin, and Dubois counties to improve connectivity (Indiana Public Media). Early in 2023, the Federal Highway Administration will review the Environmental Impact Study and public comments to decide how to continue.

NOTRE DAME: RAISES MINIMUM WAGE TO $17.50 – The University of Notre Dame announced major wage increases Thursday for faculty, staff and student workers (WNDU-TV). Starting Aug. 1, Notre Dame will raise its staff minimum wage to $17.50 an hour and student workers will be paid a minimum of $15 an hour. All salaried staff will be given a 3 percent raise on top of merit-based increases (WVPE). A university release says the $25 million investment will impact more than 6,000 employees. Officials say the raises are part of the largest increase in employee compensation in the university’s history. “We often speak of Notre Dame as being a force for good in the world,” university executive vice president Shannon Cullinan said in the release. “Investing in our faculty, staff and students is an extension of those values and the right thing to do for our most valuable asset, our people.”

General Assembly

DOWNS PREDICTS THERE WILL BE ‘AMENDMENTS’ TO SB1:  One of the state’s leading political analysts believes Republican leadership already has enough votes to pass Senate Bill 1 in its current form but there will be attempts to amend it (Columbus Republic). Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, and Sen. Sue Glick, R-LaGrange, unveiled a total ban on abortion in the state of Indiana on Wednesday, with only exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. “I think it’s safe to say there will be amendments,” said Dr. Andrew Downs, associate professor and director of the Department of Political Science at Purdue University Fort Wayne. One of the amendments that groups including the Indiana State Medical Association seek is to add an exception for the health of the mother, rather than the current exception only to save the life of the mother. Health care providers are concerned that pregnant women who have pre-existing medical conditions could have their health worsened due to pregnancy. “While there are certainly conditions that occur in pregnancy that will result in death of the person in the immediate future if an abortion is not performed, there are many more conditions for which pregnancy increases the risk of long-term health complications, including life-limiting ones. Care of these patients should include counseling on the risks of ongoing pregnancy and the option for abortion,” said Dr. Christina Scifres, an Indiana OB/GYN, in a press release.

ACLU SEEKING ACTIVISTS OVER NEXT 2 WEEKS: Legislators are convening tomorrow to begin hearings on Senate Bill 1, a piece of legislation that will ban abortion in Indiana, putting Hoosiers’ health and safety at risk. The ACLU of Indiana said this process could move quickly (Howey Politics Indiana). The tentative schedule released suggests a final vote will be taken within two weeks and we need you with us every step of the way. Here are 7 ways to join the fight in Indiana: Rally with us at the Statehouse tomorrow at 11:30. Contact the Senate Rules Committee. Sign up to stay involved throughout special session. Talk to friends and family about abortion.

Share your support for abortion access on social media. If you are an Indiana business leader, join the 300+ businesses that have signed on to the Don’t Ban Equality letter. Share these resources! Forward this email or urge the people you know to visit aclu-in.org/abortion to take action and learn more.

PRO-LIFE RALLY MONDAY AT STATEHOUSE: The Indiana General Assembly will begin its special session to address abortion-related legislation, among other items, on July 25. As The Criterion was going press, two events to encourage legislation protecting the unborn and helping moms and children were reported to The Criterion (Criterion). From 7-9 p.m. on July 21, two consecutive holy hours will be offered at St. John the Evangelist Church, 126 W. Georgia St., in Indianapolis. These hours will be a time of adoration and prayer for legislators as they develop and vote on legislation to protect all human life. All are invited to come and pray for one or both hours. For more information, call the parish office at 317-635-2021. From 11-11:45 a.m. on July 26, Indiana Right to Life will hold a rally inside the south atrium of the Indiana Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St., in Indianapolis. The event will include a welcome by Indiana Right to Life president and CEO Mike Fichter, prayer, a speaker and a legislative update. Attendees will then be dismissed to visit the offices of their legislators.

Congress

YOUNG ADDRESSING HOUSING ISSUES: Republican Indiana Senator Todd Young emphasized the need for Congress to pass the “Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act” when he spoke in a Senate Finance Committee meeting Thursday (Herrick, WIBC). He introduced that legislation along with Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington. Young believes this bill would expand and strengthen the nation’s most successful affordable housing program to help combat the problems brought on by inflation. “I have to tell you, as I travel across the state of Indiana, I hear from every community about the importance of affordable housing and about the challenges they are experiencing right now,” said Young.

Nation

WHITE HOUSE: BIDEN HAS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VARIANT – President Joe Biden likely contracted a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus spreading rapidly through the United States, and now has body aches and a sore throat since his positive test, according to an update from his doctor on Saturday (AP). The variant, known as BA.5, is an offshoot of the omicron strain that emerged late last year, and it’s believed to be responsible for the vast majority of coronavirus cases in the country. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, wrote in his latest update on Biden’s condition that Biden’s earlier symptoms, including a runny nose and a cough, have become “less troublesome.” O’Connor’s earlier notes did not mention the sore throat or body aches.

CALIFORNIA: YOSEMITE FIRE EXPLODES IN SIZE – A fast-moving brush fire near Yosemite National Park exploded in size Saturday into one of California’s largest wildfires of the year, prompting evacuation orders for thousands of people and shutting off power to more than 2,000 homes and businesses (AP). The Oak Fire started Friday afternoon southwest of the park near the town of Midpines in Mariposa County and by Saturday had grown to nearly 19 square miles (48 square kilometers), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. It erupted as firefighters made progress against an earlier blaze that burned to the edge of a grove of giant sequoias in the southernmost part of Yosemite park.

MLB: CHISOX SPLIT WITH CLEVELAND – It was a very bad day for the Chicago White Sox right up until AJ Pollock’s liner went off the glove of third baseman Ernie Clement and into left field. Then it got a lot better (ESPN). Pollock hit a two-run single with two outs in the eighth inning, and the White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 5-4 on Saturday to salvage a split of their day-night doubleheader. “Very tough, very gutty win for us,” manager Tony La Russa said. Eloy Jiménez homered and Yoán Moncada drove in two runs as Chicago improved to 9-9 in a stretch of 19 straight games against AL Central opponents. The White Sox (47-48) won the division last year, but they are going to need a strong second half to secure a third straight postseason appearance.

MLB: CUBBIES THWART PHILLIES 6-2 – Nick Castellanos’ first season in Philadelphia has been a struggle, and his frustration boiled over Saturday night (ESPN). Nico Hoerner homered early and scored the tiebreaking run in a five-run 10th inning that sent the Chicago Cubs to a 6-2 victory over Castellanos and the Phillies. Castellanos was booed by many in the crowd of 38,542 during another rough night at the plate. The outfielder signed a $100 million, five-year contract in the offseason after batting .309 with 34 homers and 100 RBI last season for Cincinnati. But his average dipped to .245 after going 0 for 4 with a strikeout against the Cubs. He has eight homers and 46 RBI.

MLB: CARDINALS DOWN REDS 6-3 – Paul Goldschmidt drove in three runs to reach 1,002 RBI, combining with Tyler O’Neill to hit consecutive fourth-inning home runs and lead the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 6-3 on Saturday night (ESPN). Nolan Arenado had three hits, including two of the Cardinals’ six doubles. St. Louis tied its season high with eight extra-base hits and won for the sixth time in nine games.

Sunday Talk

CHENEY SAYS JAN. 6 PANEL EYES GINNI THOMAS: Rep. Liz Cheney said Sunday the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is prepared to consider subpoenaing Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, if she does not appear voluntarily. “The committee is engaged with her counsel,” Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when asked if the panel planned to speak with her about efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “We hope she’ll agree to come in voluntarily. The committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena if she does not.”

GORE SAYS AMERICAN MUST ADDRESS DEMOCRACY, CLIMATE CRISES: Former Vice President Al Gore said fixing issues with American democracy is necessary to properly address climate change. Gore told NBC News’s Chuck Todd in an interview that will air on “Meet the Press” on Sunday that public sentiment on climate issues is changing in favor of supporting urgent action, but a “broken” democracy is preventing progress from happening. “In order to solve the climate crisis, we’re going to have to pay attention to the democracy crisis,” he said.

GORE ON JAN. 6: Former Vice President Al Gore said on Sunday that there was “nothing really extraordinary” about him contesting his presidential election loss in 2000 in response to his name being invoked during a Jan 6. committee hearing last week. During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked Karl for his reaction to former White House aide Matthew Pottinger’s calling Gore’s concession to former President George W. Bush after contesting the results a model for American democracy. “Well, of course, but all I did is what Winston Churchill once said about the American people, the American people generally do the right thing after first exhausting every available alternative,” Gore told Karl. “That’s really all I did. The Constitution required what I did and there’s nothing really extraordinary about it.” “What, was it personally difficult? Well, you know, when the fate of the country and the traditions and honor of our democracy are at stake, it’s not really a difficult choice,” Gore concluded.

RAIMONDO SAYS BIDEN WEIGHS LABOR IMPLICATIONS: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that one of the things holding up President Biden from making a decision whether or not to lift Trump-era tariffs on China that some economists say could help ease inflation are the impacts such a move would have on labor unions. Despite an analysis by the Peterson Institute for International Economics that lifting tariffs on some Chinese-made products would save households hundreds of dollars, Biden is concerned about the support of unions in making this decision. “There are potential labor implications. One thing about this president is he will never do anything that he thinks will hurt workers in America, or union workers in America,” she said.

Local

GREENWOOD: MALL SHOOTING VICTIMS BURIED –  Hugs, tears, and memories were shared to honor the couple that was killed in the Greenwood Park Mall shooting (WISH-TV). Family and friends are remembering Pedro and Rosa Pineda. On Saturday, mourners gathered at Templo la Hermosa, which means the Beautiful Temple, to pay tribute to the couple. The third victim was 30-year-old Victor Gomez. The ceremony happened near New York Street and Chester Avenue, where friends offered condolences to the Pineda family and shared memories of Rosa and Pedro Pineda. After the ceremony, dozens of cars lined the street for a procession to honor the couple. Then the burial was held to say their goodbyes.

GREENWOOD: SHOOTER’S FAMILY SHOCKED — The family of the man who fatally shot three people at a suburban Indianapolis shopping mall said Friday that they had no inkling that he was capable of the violence (AP). In a statement released through their attorney, Jeffrey and Justin Sapirman, the father and brother, respectively, of gunman Jonathan Sapirman, extended their “deepest condolences who have suffered as a result of the tragedy at the Greenwood Park Mall on Sunday.” “We had no reason to believe that Jonathan would ever engage in these extreme actions. We are unable to offer any explanation for his decisions and are as shocked as the rest of the community.

DELAWARE COUNTY: WHITEHEAD OUT AS GOP CHAIR – Victor Whitehead has resigned as chairman of the Delaware County Republican Party after much electoral success as well as disharmony during his tenure (Muncie Star Press). Jessica Piper, who had been county vice chairman, released a statement Friday saying Whitehead had resigned the previous Friday, July 15. No reason was given for his sudden departure. Victor Whitehead, then Delaware County Republican Party chairman, speaks on Nov. 5, 2019, at the Knights of Columbus after Muncie’s municipal election, when Republican’s won the mayor’s race and a majority on city council. “The Delaware County Republican Party is grateful for Mr. Whitehead’s leadership throughoutthe past 10 years as he has steered our party to remarkable election results,” the statement said. “Effective immediately, Jessica Piper assumes the role of chair. Her first duty is to call a caucus of theDelaware County Republican Committee to confer the new, permanent chairperson. Caucusinformation will be provided to the Delaware County Republican Committee in the comingdays.” Neither Whitehead nor Piper returned calls from the Star Press.