Delaware County Republican withdraws from county council race after days of online attacks over DEI

Delaware County Republican Tasliym Morales said Monday she is withdrawing from the race for county council just days after earning the county party’s endorsement, after days of online criticism from fellow Republicans claiming she supports DEI and isn’t sufficiently conservative.

Party leaders endorsed Morales last week alongside former Upper Darby council member Brian Burke last week, formally launching the primary as Charlie Alexander and Liz Piazza announced plans to stay in the race despite not earning the party’s support.

But Morales, the only Black woman in the race, said she would support whoever party leaders endorsed in a meeting scheduled for Monday evening and run for either the statehouse or county council again in the next two years.

“I wanted them to be able to go on with this campaign without the cloud of constantly having to come to my aid,” said Morales, who also sits on the Chester Upland school board.

Morales’ decision to withdraw followed days of attacks on social media, primarily from conservative activist Leah Hoopes, targeting her for her background, arguing she wasn’t a real Republican, and accusing her of supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion. President Donald Trump has repeatedly vilified DEI efforts and has sought to ban them at the federal level.

“The narratives that they were sharing were just blown out of proportion,” Morales said, noting she has administered DEI policies as an HR professional but agrees with Trump’s position of eliminating DEI programs. DEI programs, she said, are subjective and less effective than enforcement of nondiscrimination law.

A now-deleted post on the Delaware County GOP Facebook page announcing the endorsed county candidates was peppered with comments questioning Morales’ endorsement with some, Morales said, specifically noting her race. Morales, the one Black woman in the race, said she was frustrated to be painted as a fake Republican after taking criticism for years for being a Black Republican.

Additionally, Hoopes, a right-wing activist known for false claims of election fraud, posted more than 10 times since the endorsement calling Morales a Democrat, a “Never Trumper,” and pointing to statements she’s made about equity and inclusion as evidence she supports DEI.

In an email to The Inquirer on Friday, Hoopes said she regularly vets candidates for public office and did not single out Morales.

“Ms Morales is a Democrat … who runs with Democrats, and pushes DEI,” she wrote.

She noted that Morales filed to run for school board as a Democrat. Morales filed in both parties, which is common in school board races.

At a Monday meeting, the county GOP will vote on a new endorsement for council, following Morales’ withdrawal. It will also vote on endorsements for candidates for register of wills and the Court of Common Pleas.

Delaware County Republican chair Frank Agovino said Monday he was confident the party would still have a strong slate of candidates. He called Morales a “terrific Republican” and said people had made incorrect assumptions about her position on DEI.

“If you’re not willing to do the research then you can create a paradigm however you want,” he said. “People don’t take the time to really get to know people.”

The saga has highlighted broader frustrations with the party endorsement process. Alexander, a right-wing activist running without an endorsement, created a Facebook event calling for Republicans to protest the meeting and call for a no-endorsement primary.

Republicans have not held a seat on the five-member Delaware County Council since 2020. Following a 23% tax increase, Republicans in the collar county have seen 2025 as a key opportunity to win back seats on the entirely Democratic board.

With their eyes on keeping the seats, Democrats voted over the weekend to endorse incumbent council member Richard Womack and county Controller Joanne Phillips.

“She and Richard will make an amazing team because Richard is very oriented toward the community and knows the people and knows the issues whereas Joanne has this granular detail of making sure that everything gets done properly,” said Colleen Guiney, the chair of the Delaware County Democratic Party.

Womack, a labor leader who is seeking a second term in the council, was the only council member to vote against Delaware County’s tax increase last year. At the time, Womack said, his vote was fueled by concern that the county wasn’t doing enough to mitigate the increase but he said the increase was justifiable.

“I want to make sure that we do everything possible to either have no tax increase or very little tax increase,” he said.

As a running mate, Womack said, Phillips brought important experience managing county finances. Phillips was first elected as the county controller in 2017.

As controller, Phillips had a front-row seat to county decisions and said she was well-equipped to explain the benefits, like a health department, that have come from Democratic leadership.

“The services that have been delivered over the past four years, I think I can speak to that. I think there are real successes on that,” she said.