Pa. Dems elect Groen as new state chairman

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party has a new chairman, ending months of uncertainty over party leadership.

Marcel Groen, a lawyer and longtime Montgomery County Democratic chairman, was unopposed in his bid to serve as state chairman through at least June 2018.

The previous chairman, Jim Burn, resigned Saturday prior to the Democratic State Committee vote in Gettysburg, fulfilling a promise he made in July to step down in the interest of party unity. Burn says his departure should help the party focus on the candidates and not internal disputes.

Burn was elected chairman in 2010. He refused to step aside last year after Wolf won a four-way Democratic primary and tried to replace him. Wolf responded by forming his own political committee, while the state committee awarded Burn a second term.