Key Points
- Rep. Langworthy (R-NY23) began his political career with the Young Republicans at Niagara University.
- New York Young Republicans and others are embroiled in a scandal over racist and anti-semitic online chats.
- Langworthy previously condemned statements from democrats he deemed anti-semitic.
- Langworthy has not condemned the racist and anti-semitic statements from these Young Republicans.
- One of the Young Republican, Bobby Walker, worked for New York State Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt.
As an undergraduate at Niagara University, Rep. Nicholas Langworthy — who grew up in South Dayton, Chautauqua County — helped organize a campus chapter of College Republicans. That student club connected him with GOP leaders across Niagara and Erie Counties, providing him with experience in campaign work and party organizing. After graduation, he joined Congressman Tom Reynolds’s staff, managed Reynolds’s reelection campaigns, and later worked in Representative Chris Lee’s office. By 29, he chaired the Erie County Republican Committee; in 2019, he became the youngest chair of the New York State Republican Party. In 2022, after Rep. Chris Jacobs exited the race, Langworthy defeated Carl Paladino in the primary and won the general in the redrawn NY-23, which stretches from Buffalo’s southern suburbs to the Southern Tier.
The Politico Leak: Racism, Antisemitism, and “Hitler Aesthetic”
In October 2025, POLITICO published nearly 2,900 pages of internal Telegram messages from Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Vermont, and Arizona. The content includes racist slurs, praise for Adolf Hitler, references to rape, and repeated talk of gas chambers. These were not anonymous internet trolls — several were officeholders, party lawyers, or campaign staffers including:
- Peter Giunta, former chairman and president of the New York State Young Republicans, resigned last month amid allegations of “serious potential financial misconduct.” Also chief of staff to New York Assemblyman Michael Reilly — fired last week.
- Bobby Walker, vice chair and later chair of the New York State Young Republicans. He had been in line to manage State Senator Peter Oberacker’s congressional campaign, but “Walker won’t be brought on in light of the comments in the chat.”
- Joe Maligno, general counsel to the organization.
- Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committee member and, reportedly, Giunta’s girlfriend.
- William Hendrix, Kansas Young Republicans vice chair and communications assistant for Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach — “no longer employed” in the AG’s office.
- Samuel “Sam” Douglass, a state senator from northern Vermont who headed the state’s Young Republicans. He resigned from the Vermont legislature last week.
- Brianna Douglass, his wife, a Vermont Young Republicans National Committee member (Vermont Public; VTDigger).
Giunta: “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber. And everyone that endorsed but then votes for us is going to the gas chamber… I’m going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man… I love Hitler.” (on the NBA): “I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkeys play ball.”
Maligno: “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.”
Kaykaty: “I’m ready to watch people burn now.”
Walker (on a pilot): “If your pilot is a she and she looks ten shades darker than someone from Sicily, just end it there. Scream the no no word.” “If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked...”
Samuel Douglass: “…a very obese Indian woman … She just didn’t bathe often.”
Brianna Douglass: “Expecting the Jew to be honest.”
Alex Dwyer (AZ YR): “Sex? It was rape.”
At the very time these messages circulated, national GOP figures were castigating universities for alleged antisemitism and positioning themselves as defenders of Jewish students. The leaked chat shows the leaders of the Young Republicans were trading gas-chamber jokes and praising Hitler.
Republican Responses: Condemnation, Caution, and Excuses
The New York Republican State Committee unanimously revoked the state Young Republicans’ charter, citing “vile language” and “gross mismanagement.” Several GOP officials condemned the content:
- Ed Cox (NY GOP Chair): “Vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations.”
- Rep. Elise Stefanik called for the implicated leaders to resign.
- Rep. Mike Lawler called the conduct “disgusting.”
- State Sen. Rob Ortt condemned the remarks as “racist, antisemitic, and misogynistic.”
Democratic and Civic Response
- Sen. Chuck Schumer called the content “disgusting” and urged Republicans to “clean house.”
- Gov. Kathy Hochul said the chats were “so vile it’s hard to find the words,” adding that the writers “believe in gas chambers and discrimination based on color.”
- Rep. Yvette Clarke and Rep. Grace Meng both condemned the language as dehumanizing and dangerous.
- Civil-rights and Jewish organizations denounced the rhetoric as a normalization of antisemitism and racism in mainstream politics.
Langworthy: Condemnation Before, Silence Now
Here in Western New York, Mr. Langworthy started his political career by organizing a College Republicans chapter. As of publication, there is no public statement from Rep. Langworthy condemning the Young Republicans’ leaked chat, the gas-chamber jokes, or the antisemitic and racist language.
Mr. Langworthy’s silence now contrasts with past episodes where he vocally condemned antisemitism in other contexts. In 2023, he co-signed a letter to New York education officials denouncing a Regents exam question as “abhorrent, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel rhetoric.” He voted to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her “antisemitic remarks.” He condemns antisemitism when it involves a school or a Democrat, but not when it comes from Young Republicans.
The Broader Contradiction
While Vice President Vance and Rep. Langworthy accuse universities of tolerating antisemitism and present themselves as protectors of Jewish students, the leaked chat shows Young Republicans invoking Hitler and gas chambers. The Vice President offers excuses while Mr. Langworthy is silent.
Update
Ken Kruly in his blog “Politics and Other Stuff” noted the Young Republicans scandal in his October 28th posting. In it he wrote, “One of the members of the now former organization known as the New York State Young Republicans had previously worked for state Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt. Erie County Republican Chairman Michael Kracker was quick to delete an internet photo of him with Young Republican leader Bobby Walker [see his quote above] who is part of the controversy.“
References
- POLITICO — NY State Young Republicans disbanded (Oct 17, 2025)
- Al Jazeera — “Gas them” leak overview (Oct 17, 2025)
- Washington Post — NY GOP suspends YR chapter (Oct 17, 2025)
- AP — State GOP action and reactions
- Vermont Public — Sen. Sam Douglass to resign (Oct 17, 2025)
- VTDigger — Douglass resignation (Oct 17, 2025)
- POLITICO — Vance “edgy jokes” quote (Oct 15, 2025)
