One of the Pennsylvania Republicans selected on Sunday by the presidential campaign for Vice Presidential Kamala Harris to run the commonwealth’s chapter of Republicans for Harris is former Lancaster County Republican Committee chair Ann Womble, who pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol in June.
Named as one of two leaders of Republicans for Harris in Pennsylvania by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday, Womble will reportedly help the Harris campaign reach Republicans who supported former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley during the Republican Party’s primary.
Womble (pictured above) was elected the chair of the Lancaster Republican Party Committee in 2012, when the Pennsylvania Republican Party revealed she also served as a delegate for Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) to the Republican National Convention during Romney’s presidential bid that year.
It was reported on June 24 by Lancaster Online that Womble pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI and a summary driving offense after she crashed into the back of another vehicle on New Year’s Eve in 2023.
Womble’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was reportedly 0.238 percent when tested by police shortly before midnight, placing her at nearly three times the Pennsylvania legal limit of 0.08 percent.
After pleading guilty, Lancaster Online reported Womble was sentenced by Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker to pay $1,525 in fines, an unspecified dollar amount in court costs, complete five years of probation, and to spend 90 days confined to her home under house arrest.
The outlet reported the 28 days Womble spent in an alcohol treatment program will be credited against her sentence, reducing her period of house arrest to 62 days.
If the period of house arrest started on June 24, then Womble will remain confined to her home until August 25, while Republicans for Harris started on August 4.
The Pennsylvania Daily Star emailed Womble to confirm the details of her conviction and house arrest, and to ascertain whether she disclosed them to the Harris campaign, but did not receive a response prior to press time.
Womble stated to Lancaster Online in June, “No one is above the law and I respect the rule of law.” The outlet reported it was Womble’s second DUI.
Driving under the influence is considered a first degree misdemeanor offense in Pennsylvania, which places the reported BAC of Womble after the crash under its highest category for penalties.
In addition to the misdemeanor charge, her prior conviction meant Womble could have faced an 18 month license suspension, up to five years in prison, and been required to use an ignition interlock device to test her sobriety when starting her vehicle.
Vice President Kamala Harris was elected the San Francisco district attorney in 2003, and the Harris campaign has highlighted the candidate’s experience as a prosecutor, with pundits noting former President Donald Trump was convicted of felony offenses in a controversial New York trial.
The Daily Star contacted a Harris campaign spokesman to ask whether it was aware of Womble’s conviction, and what sort of vetting members of Republicans for Harris received, but did not receive an immediate response.
Womble is not the only member of Republicans for Harris with a controversial past.
Mesa Mayor John Giles, a member of Republicans for Harris from Arizona, was previously censured by his county’s Republican Party committee after endorsing a Democrat in 2022, and in 2017 referred to Trump as an “idiot” on a hot microphone.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ann Womble” by Ann Womble. Background Photo “Kamala Harris” by Kamala Harris.
