One potential candidate for governor is Doug Mastriano. And he might not.
Two things, though, are clear for Mastriano: he will not stop hinting at a bid for governor on social media, and he will not heed Republican business leaders who advise him against it.
That is, unless the individual represented in Mastriano’s X header is President Donald Trump.
Following several X posts that hinted at a candidacy for governor, Mastriano, a state senator representing Adams and Franklin counties, recently spoke with the Philadelphia Inquirer about his intentions to run for governor next year—or not.
Politicore just had conversations with four Republicans who knew Trump’s advisors. Republicans throughout the state are anticipating Mastriano’s declaration.
He informed the Inquirer that he will consult with his wife, Rebbie, before making a choice. In a statement to the Inquirer, he also stated that he has a strategy to defeat incumbent Democrat Josh Shapiro, who is well-liked by Pennsylvanians but hasn’t officially entered the campaign.
Mastriano won the Republican gubernatorial primary with over 44% of the vote, more than twice as many as his next closest rival, former GOP Congressman Lou Barletta, but lost to Gov. Josh Shapiro in 2022 by almost 15 percentage points and 800,000 votes. However, that victory came after a drawn-out primary that started with 16 contenders, and it’s uncertain how Mastriano would fare in a direct contest versus Garrity.
Although Treasurer Stacy Garrity hasn’t formally entered the campaign, the state GOP is cautiously rallying around her.
Charlie Gerow, a longtime GOP consultant who briefly challenged Mastriano in the 2022 gubernatorial race, told PennLive earlier this month that the most prominent members of the party are supporting Garrity. Gerow added that many of Mastriano’s supporters are essentially unnoticed.
According to a GOP leader the Inquirer spoke with, Mastriano’s run would be disastrous for the party. That worry was echoed by Politico’s sources, who claimed that Mastriano is a nightmare that nobody wants.
The senator told the Inquirer that Republicans’ inability to support early voting and come together in support of redistricting was the reason he lost in 2022.
He went on to say that GOP insiders run the risk of losing the grassroots movement that we built in 2020 through opposition to COVID-19 closures and voting integrity initiatives, which prompted him to demand an examination of fabricated allegations of election fraud in Pennsylvania.
Mastriano finally informed the Inquirer that he won’t run until he thinks he can win. Additionally, he stated that he would honor Trump’s endorsement choices, as he has not commented on the contest.
Politico’s sources claimed that Trump’s team is extremely worried about the impact Mastriano’s entry would have down the ballot, while Mastriano claimed on X that he had Trump’s direct connection and that Trump wasn’t showing any signs of worry.
Republican voters, particularly those in the MAGA caucus, want Mastriano to run, despite the fact that Republican officials appear to be against it overall. According to a May private Public Policy Polling report that Politico was able to secure, he is ahead of Garrity by 21 points.
According to his X tweets, Mastriano is not pleased that Pennsylvania Republicans are probably going to support a candidate come September. In a post, he suggested that the people make the decision.
The far-right, ultra-conservative audience that responds well to his tweets on the site appears to be expanding in preparation of a gubernatorial declaration. In a post, he claimed that 25,000 individuals had submitted ideas for a possible emblem for his bid for governor.
Garrity is term-limited from standing for treasurer again, but she has hinted at a run, albeit not as overtly as Mastriano. No contenders have entered the race.
The contest should come into clarity in the next six weeks, according to a conservative commentator PennLive talked with earlier this month.
Mastriano told the Inquirer that he would not be influenced by party insiders and would declare his intention to run on my timeframe.
He declared that insiders will not determine the direction of our movement. The people will be in charge of it.
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