The Elephant in the Room: Recent Episodes
Sam DeMarco & John Schnaedter
Sam DeMarco & John Schnaedter dive into the real stories behind conservative politics in Greater Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania and across the country. The Elephant in the Room features the Republican candidates, thought leaders and innovators that you need to know about!
New episodes every week. Brought to you by Get Elected.
Dennis Roddey, Coldspark Senior Advisor and Erin Koper, Allegheny County Council of Republican Women President
Guy Ciarrocchi, columnist, strategist, and Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation
Shawn Brokos, Director of Community Security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Chairman Todd McCollum and Vice Chair Russell Dryer, City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee
Michael Sipper, CEO and Founder of The Academic Republicans of Pittsburgh and Campaign Coordinator of the Pitt College Republicans and Adam Mahler, Chief Operating Officer of The Academic Republicans of Pittsburgh and Fundraising Director for the Pitt College Republicans.
Lowman Henry, Chief Executive Officer of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research and President of the Pennsylvania Leadership Council
Julie Paris, Regional Director at StandWithUs and Laura Cherner, Director, Community Relations Council at Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
Len Iorio, Chairman of the Heidelberg Republican Committee and Karen Paullet from the Precinct Project
Erin Koper, Chairwoman of the Allegheny County Council of Republican Women, Gina Pollice, Chairwoman of the City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee – District 2, and Bobby Harr, an independent investigative journalist and founder of Eyes on PGH.
Guy Ciarrocchi, a writer, strategists, and Senior Fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation
David Sunday, District Attorney of York County and Pennsylvania Attorney General candidate
Mike DeVanney, Partner at ColdSpark Media and Jason Richey, Partner at K and L Gates and former gubernatorial candidate.
Jim Roddey, Allegheny County’s first County Executive and Joe Rockey, Allegheny County Executive candidate
Conservative activist Scott Presler and Erin Koper, Chairwoman of the Allegheny County Council of Republican Women
Robin Rorick from the American Petroleum Institute and Nick Haden from the American Energy Partners.
This week Sam DeMarco provides an update on what is happening on County Council and discusses the other issues facing Allegheny County.
Sam is joined in studio by Pine-Richland school board director candidate Phil Morrissette and Quaker Valley school board director candidate Bill Jasper.
Sam is joined in studio by Bob Howard, Republican candidate for Allegheny County Controller.
Sam chats with Allegheny County Council District 5 candidate Mike Embrescia and PA Superior Court candidate Maria Battista.
Guest host Jason Richey continues the conversation with Joe Rockey, Republican candidate for Allegheny County Executive.
This week show is hosted by Lenny McAllister and features a discussion with Allegheny County Council of Republican Women Chair Erin Koper.
Sam is joined by Guy Ciarrocchi, writer for Real Clear Pennsylvania and Broad & Liberty as well as a policy and strategic communications advisor.
Sam covers the hot topics of the week, including the candidates that filed this for primary runs and reactions to Gov. Josh Shapiro's budget address.
Sam is joined by State representative Jason Ortitay and Guy Ciarrocchi, columnist for Broad & Liberty and Real Clear Politics.
Sam is joined by Len Iorio, founder and CEO of Truth in Advertising and co-chair chair the Republican Committee of Allegheny County’s “Precinct Project”, and Doug Jones, founder and CEO of Get Elected.
This week, Sam and John welcome Commonwealth Court candidate Megan Martin and Superior Court candidate Harry F Smail, Jr to discuss their candidacies and how their experience and credentials suit them well to be a judge on the appellate courts.
Guest host Lenny McAllister from the Commonwealth Foundation is joined by Special Election candidatss Don Nevills and Clay Walker to discuss the important issues in their respective districts.
This week on the Elephant in the Room, Sam DeMarco and John Schnaedter welcome Rich Cupka, owner of Cupka's Cafe 2 in Pittsburgh's South Side and Todd McCollum, former police officer and chairman of the City of Pittsburgh Republican Committee to discuss the disturbing uptick in crime and the abandonment of the business in the South Side as a result of the fialed public safety policies of Mayor Ed Gainey and his predecessor Bill Peduto.
Sam DeMarco and John Schnaedter welcome nationally syndicated columnist Salena Zito to the show.
Sam and John are joined by Lowman Henry, Chairman and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research to discuss the lessons learned from the 2022 General Election, the 2023 Special Elections and preview the 2023 Leadership Conference.
This week we welcomed guests Athan Koutsiouroumbas, a Republican Strategist who broke down how Democrats were relentlessly effective in their mail-in ballot campaign, and Lenny McAllister, a Senior Fellow with the Commonwealth Foundation who exposes the hypocrisy in many liberal policies.
Sam & John are joined in studio by former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Jason Richey as they discuss the 2022 midterm elections and what's next for our region as we look ahead to 2023.
This week, Sam sits down with former PA-12 Congressman Keith Rothfus and Rick Potter of the Mighty Texas Strike Force to talk the failed policies of elected Democrats across our region and the nation and why it's so important to get out and vote on Tuesday.
Sam & John welcome Carrie Lewis DelRosso, our Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, followed by Chairman Lawrence Tabas of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania.
Sam & John talk with US Congressional Candidate Jeremy Shaffer (PA17) and PA House Candidate Frank Perman from Pennsylvania's 21st legislative districts about the pressing issues for our region in their final push to make their case to voters ahead of November 8.
Sam visits with Republican Mike Doyle, candidate for Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District, about his goals and priorities for our region.
Sam & John are joined in studio by finance pro David E. Martin. Listen in for a nuts and bolts take on inflation and how failed liberal policies are hurting our nation.
Sam & John chat with Ted Tomson, candidate in Pennsylvania's 33rd legistlative district, and Ed Brosky, candidate in Pennsylvania's 27th legislative district.
Sam & John talk with PA State Representative Rob Mercuri (PA-28) & candidate for PA's 35th Legislative District Don Nevills about their respective races, their plans for our region and for Pennsylvania.
Sam & John are joined by US Congressman GT Thompson from Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district and Pat Tylka, candidate for Pennsylvania House of Representatives from legislative district 42.
Sam & John talk with Pennsylvania State Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward and Pennsylvania State Representative Valerie Gaydos about the upcoming mid-term election and the importance of keeping a Republican majority in Harrisburg.
Sam & John talk with Mike Pendel, Republican candidate for Pennsylvania's 45th legislative district and Steve Schlauch, Republican candidate for Pennsylvania's 25th legislative district.
Sam & John sit down with Republican State Rep candidates Matt Kruth (PA-20) and Frank Perman (PA-21) to talk about the challenges facing our region and their plans to improve Western PA and the State of Pennsylvania.
Sam talks with former Republican gubernatorial candidate Jason Richey about the mid-term races and the future of Allegheny County headed into next year's municipal elections.
Our tenth show features a lengthy interview with Chief Executive Office of the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. Lowman Henry.
Our ninth show features interviews with PA State Senator Devlin Robinson and PA State Rep. Jason Ortitay. They discuss the budget, tolling and other hot button issues.
Sam and John talk politics with Washington & Jefferson College Political Science Professor Joseph DiSarro.
This week’s show features interviews with Congressional Candidates Jeremy Shaffer and Mike Doyle.
Our fifth show was recorded June 2 and features a conversation with Get Elected Founder Doug Jones.
Our fourth show features reaction to the Uvalde school shooting, update on the Republican U.S. Senate contest, and primary election analysis.
Sam and John break down the primary election results and are joined by Republican nominee for Lt Governor Carrie DelRosso.
Our second show features interviews with gubernatorial candidate Dave White, PA State Rep. Natalie Mihalek, U.S. Senate candidate Kathy Barnette and author Sean Parnell.
The maiden show features interviews with US Senate candidate Dave McCormick, and gubernatorial candidates Lou Barletta and Jake Coreman.