With term-limited incumbent Tom Wolf out of office, Shapiro defeated Republican Sen. Doug Mastriano to fill the open seat. Shapiro, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, has led Mastriano in the polls all year. « Ενδιάμεσες Εκλογές Κυβερνήτη Πενσυλβάνια 2022: Τελευταίες ενημερώσεις και αποτελέσματα »> The Democrat benefited from high name recognition in the state, while the far-right Mastriano struggled to win over moderate GOP voters. Shapiro had won statewide office twice before. And without a primary challenger, he was able to quickly raise money and attack Mastriano before the Republican even won the GOP nomination. Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general, attends an election night event, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022, in Oaks, Pa. (Matt Slocum/AP Photo) Mastriano, a former Army colonel who won a 2019 special election for a state Senate seat in south-central Pennsylvania, had worked with then-President Donald Trump’s legal team in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results. He also attended rally on January 6, 2021 that preceded the riot on Capitol Hill. Fair election advocates have worried that if Mastriano were to become governor in 2024, he might try to block the certification of the state’s Electoral College votes if a Democrat won that year’s presidential race. In Pennsylvania, the governor selects the secretary of state, who serves as the chief election officer. Shapiro embraced and defended his Jewish faith throughout the campaign, while criticizing Mastriano’s ties to Gab, a far-right social media platform considered a haven for anti-Semites. The Keystone State first elected a Jewish governor in 1970, Democrat Milton Shapp, who had changed his name because of fears of anti-Semitism. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, speaks to the media after a rally at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex on October 29 in Manheim, Pa. (Mark Makela/Getty Images) Many Republicans announced their support for Shapiro during the campaign, and while former GOP Gov. Tom Ridge declined to endorse the race, he called Shapiro “a very impressive man.” Shapiro has even been touted as a future Democratic candidate for president. The story continues Mastriano’s successful GOP primary campaign benefited from his social media presence. But it struggled to raise funds and didn’t start airing TV ads until late in the general election campaign. A group supporting him that ran ads against Shapiro stopped doing so in late September. Shapiro also focused on the issue of reproductive rights, highlighting Mastriano’s call for a total abortion ban. With the Pennsylvania Legislature expected to remain in Republican control, Shapiro has vowed to veto any new restrictions. Wolf has vetoed multiple abortion restrictions during his eight years in office. In September, a Mastriano campaign adviser asked supporters to pressure the Republican Governors Association into the race. Appearing on a Facebook live stream, Mastriano noted that he was “really not finding much support from the Republican organizations at the national level.” Over the summer, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey — the RGA’s president — said the group would not “fund lost causes.” One of the few prominent Republicans who stood by Mastriano, however, was Florida Gov. Ron DeSandis, who held a campaign event with him in August.
