The dysfunction, discord, disharmony and division plaguing the Trumbull County Republican Party was on full display during its recent reorganizational meeting.

Practically every person who spoke at the meeting either addressed the infighting that splits its members into two factions or got into arguments over it.

But, at least for now, the faction led by Denny Malloy, who lost reelection in the Republican primary for his county commissioner seat, and political consultant Regina McManus controls the party as their candidates, most of them running unopposed, were elected to officer positions.

Unlike the other side, McManus and Malloy recruited several candidates for central committee seats. Central committee members vote on party officers.

Still, it was a close race with Malloy winning 42-36 against Jim Dunlap, who was the party’s first vice chairman at the time.

When I mentioned how close the race was, Malloy said it wasn’t as tight as the last one. He was referring to the Dec. 3, 2024, election in which Julia Shutt beat Marleah Campbell by a single vote on a second ballot, 27-26.

Republicans won every contested race on Trumbull’s 2022 and 2024 ballots, turning a Democratic county red.

Malloy said: “We broke the back of the Democratic Party in this county; we flipped it and then said, ‘What do we do now?’ We didn’t know how to win. We won since then.”

But it occurred despite the arguments between the two warring factions that resulted in three different chairs during the most recent four-year term as well as two others serving as interim leaders until elections occurred to select replacements.

One interesting dynamic had Shutt nominate Malloy while Michael J. Hovis, who beat Malloy in the Republican primary for commissioner, nominated Dunlap.

A number of Republicans on the central committee are relatively new to the party, joining the GOP during the rise of Donald Trump, who’s won the county during three consecutive presidential elections.

Malloy was a Democrat until he unsuccessfully ran as an independent in 2020 for county commissioner and then won in 2022 as a Republican.

Malloy addressed it during his nominating speech, saying “many people in this room” were previously Democrats and he changed parties “once I matured and started paying taxes and started understanding life a little better.”

Malloy’s switch was only four years ago.

Malloy added: “I would challenge anybody in this room who thinks they’re more Republican than me just because they have more years of votes than me.”

By far the most peculiar portion of the meeting was a supposed question-and-answer period for the chairman candidates.

It turned into Festivus with the airing of grievances as the main attraction.

Campbell, the party’s former secretary and head of the Conservative Club of Trumbull County, said Shutt tried to get her, Dunlap and Kathi Creed, second vice chairwoman, to resign at every officers’ meeting as well as get her to change the meeting minutes.

“The things that were done to the officers by Julia were unforgivable,” Campbell said. “It drove a lot of people away from the party.

Shutt called them “disrespectful accusations” and Dunlap stopped going to officers’ meetings.

Malloy said the Conservative Club is made up of Democrats with the response being there are two of them in the club.

There were accusations that Malloy met with Kristen Rock, the Democratic nominee for county commissioner, with Malloy insisting she came up to his table to say hello.

Niki Frenchko, a former county commissioner, said while she isn’t aligned with either faction, she felt the need to point out Malloy said he voted against her during the 2020 commissioner race. Malloy said he did and would do so “again and again and again.”

After winning the chairmanship, Malloy told me: “Our goal should be the person I dislike the worst in this room I still like one step better than the Democrats we’re up against.”

That obviously doesn’t include Frenchko.

The mayhem of this Q&A finally came to an end when Randy Swogger, who was elected secretary on Malloy’s ticket, said: “I’m new to this. I’m seeing tonight why we live up to the name ‘Trouble County’ because this is like a bunch of schoolchildren going back and forth. There’s no us against them in this party, but us as Republicans and them as Democrats. We better figure out what we’re going to do in November, or we’re going to get our asses kicked. And that’s it. That was directed to everybody in this room.”

After losing, Dunlap said: “The subversive faction had enough followers to win the chairman vote and most of the people we had lined up for other offices didn’t allow themselves to be nominated because they couldn’t stomach Denny Malloy. It’s going to be the Denny and Regina show at headquarters now and they’ll use it for their own purposes and to settle scores.”

John Fowler, elected first vice chairman, ran unopposed. But Campbell nominated Frenchko for the position.

Frenchko wasn’t permitted to run.

The party’s bylaws state those seeking to run for party officer spots “must have proof of your certified voting record provided through the board of elections” showing a person is a registered Republican “in good standing” for four years.

With no love lost between him and Frenchko, Malloy didn’t permit her to run because her voting record document from the board of elections didn’t include a raised seal, which isn’t listed in the bylaws.

Campbell is a board of elections member — as is Bob Carr, who was at the meeting — and if a raised seal copy of Frenchko’s voting record was required, it could have easily been obtained right after the meeting.

The only other contested race was for second vice chair between Dawn Zinni-Hanni, the county recorder, and Creed. Zinni-Hanni won 47-34.

Both spoke of the infighting with Zinni-Hanni saying, “We’re known as ‘Trouble Trumbull.’ Let’s change that.”

Creed addressed the “splinter groups,” saying, “There is discord and no motivation to restore these relationships. How much time have we wasted?”

David Skolnick covers local, state and nationl politics for the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.