Mastriano hinted at a potential run for months. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity will now seek to challenge Governor Josh Shapiro in November.
Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano will not seek the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania again this year, he announced on Wednesday. He formerly ran against Governor Shapiro and lost the election.
Mastriano hinted at a potential run for months. His announcement clears the way for State Treasurer Stacy Garrity to challenge incumbent Governor Josh Shapiro in November.
Garrity was endorsed by the state GOP last fall to challenge Shapiro.
“We believe, with full peace in our hearts, God has not called us to run for governor,” said Mastriano in a Facebook Live video stream with his wife, Rebbie, in the announcement.
“For you to have a Republican governor here, the grassroots is going to have to back the candidate,” Mastriano said in reference to Garrity. He did not endorse her or mention her by name during the livestream.
Mastriano is a two-term state senator who represents Gettysburg and the surrounding area. He is a former U.S. Army colonel with top-secret clearance. He was a strong voice in support of President Trump’s election fraud claims during the 2020 election and has allied himself with the president.
He has publicly criticized the state GOP for its endorsement of Garrity, and repeatedly announced plans to run for the nomination regardless.
State Treasurer Garrity issued a statement following Mastriano’s announcement, calling him a “strong voice for faith, family and freedom.”
“I look forward to working with him to restore integrity, fiscal responsibility, and common-sense leadership in our commonwealth,” said Garrity.
The state GOP endorsed Garrity early in an effort to avoid a crowded primary like the one in 2022 that led to Mastriano’s past nomination, when Shapiro was able to win the election. Garrity has won statewide elections twice and beat Shapiro’s record of securing the most votes of any state-level candidate.
The state GOP’s hope is that Garrity will stand a better chance against Shapiro than Mastriano had.
“I’m still a state senator, still fighting in Harrisburg for you here. We’re still in the fight,” Mastriano said during his virtual announcement.
