PHILADELPHIA — State Sen. Greg Rothman won an election to become the new chairman of the Pennsylvania Republican Party.

Rothman, 58, won 248-120 in a vote of Republican state party committee members at a meeting in East Pennsboro on Saturday, defeating Bill Bachenberg, a Lehigh Valley business owner and longtime ally of President Donald Trump.

Rothman represents Perry County and parts of Cumberland and Dauphin counties. He is a real estate broker and has served in the state Senate for two years, where he is chairman of the Game and Fisheries Committee. He previously served in the state House for seven years and in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for 10 years, and led the Cumberland County GOP.

He said on Monday that his focus as chairman will be party unity.

“We want the Republican Party to celebrate our incredible success that we had in November and build on it, and the way we do it is be united, and that was a message that resonated with a vast majority of the committee,” he said. “And a lot of the calls and texts and emails I’m getting and returning are from people that want to be part of that, and may not have supported me on Saturday, but are ready to support me now and work all together.”

Rothman will replace Lawrence Tabas, 71, the longtime general counsel for the party who became chairman in 2019.