Delaware GOP strongly condemns local chairs homophobic, anti-Semitic remarks

The Delaware Republican Party is condemning the language used by two of its local leaders, including New Castle County Chair Chris Rowe who is tendering his resignation at the request of party leaders after he used homophobic language and Sussex County Vice Chair Nelly Jordan who is also under fire for anti-Semitic remarks made online.

New Castle County Republican Chair Chris Rowe has come under fire after he used homophobic language on Facebook, describing what he said as “locker room talk” and saying it wasn’t meant to disparage homosexuals.

Jane Brady, Chairwoman of the Delaware Republican Party, spoke with our Rob Petree Thursday morning and strongly condemned the language used by Rowe, who is now tendering his resignation at the request of party leaders.

“Neither I nor the Delaware Republican Party, which I do represent, condone any statements that might demean or show disrespect to others,” Brady said. “I’ve asked for Chris Rowe’s resignation and he has agreed to tender it. His comment was offensive and it didn’t reflect the values of respect and tolerance that I think Delaware republicans hold dear. And ultimately, as a result, he lost the support of the people he was to lead in his party position.”

Jane Brady went on to stress that the Delaware Republican Party includes individuals from all different backgrounds that have joined together to hold principals that the party and its members hold dear and that such language cannot be tolerated.

Sussex County Republican Party Vice Chair Nelly Jordan is also under fire for her use of what many considered anti-Semitic language in a Facebook post.

On December 10th, 2019, Jordan published a lengthy post to Facebook where she singled out Jewish people, saying “these jews have been enrolled to come and testify.”

Jordan went on to equate the Jewish faith to “left socialist believers” and then said “God please have mercy on them, some of the Jewish people are doing today as it was in the Old Testament; go against God’s will even after he had mercy on them.”

WGMD’s Rob Petree spoke with Jordan who had no comment and hung up the phone.

Chairwoman Brady also condemned the remarks made by Jordan, who was elected to her post by the Sussex County GOP Executive Committee unlike Rowe who was appointed to his position.

“I have condemned the comments that were made that appear to be anti-Semitic,” Brady explained. “She has asked to call me today to discuss the matter and I’ve agreed to have further conversation with her.”

Brady said the process of resignation is different for Jordan because she was elected into her post and not appointed.

“There is a process different for Nelly than there would be for Chris Rowe because of the nature of how she came into her office, she was elected by the Sussex County Republican Executive Committee,” Brady explained. “Nelly will have to make a choice of either resigning or going through a process to seek her removal.”

Following news of the controversial remarks, several Republican State lawmakers took to social media to condemn the language used by both regional representatives of the party, including State Senator Brian Pettyjohn who issued a statement saying those views do not reflect his position as an elected official.

“Statements which demean others, which call in to question the way in which others of different religions than ours practice, or which serve to belittle others have no place in civilized debate,” Senator Pettyjohn stated. “While the nature of political discourse on the national stage has taken an ugly turn, there is no reason for such actions to enter our debate in Delaware.”

The Delaware House Republican Caucus also issued a statement, saying “we are disturbed and saddened by the recent actions of two members of our state’s GOP leadership.”

The House Republican Caucus post, signed by House Minority Leader Danny Short and Minority Whip Tim Dukes, went on to express disappointment at the responses from both Rowe and Jordan.

“Nearly as troubling as the comments made by Mr. Rowe and Ms. Jordan is their disappointing response to the understandable anger they created,” their statement read. “Neither has apologized for their thoughtless posts, with Mr. Rowe actually attempting to justify his remarks as ‘locker room talk between two men.’ We call for both to immediately issue an apology and step down from their leadership roles. If they remain unwilling to do so, action should be taken to remove them from their posts.”

WGMD’s Rob Petree has reached out to Don Petitmermet, chair of the Sussex County Republican Executive Committee, who has yet to respond to a request for comment regarding whether or not the committee will move forward with the resignation of its Vice Chair Nelly Jordan.