(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) After Democrats doubled-down on Doug Mastriano—the Donald Trump-backed, pro-MAGA candidate for Pennsylvania governor—because they thought he would be easy to defeat, it now looks as if there is a serious possibility that Mastriano could beat them in the general election, Politico reported.
Mastriano, a former state senator who attempted to help stop the steal in the Pennsylvania election in 2020, is one of several conservative candidates—including the gubernatorial nominees in Illinois and Maryland—deemed by the Establishment as too far-right to elect.
Yet Mastriano dominated the field in the Republican primaries, gaining over 40% of the state’s popular vote in a field of eight total candidates, all despite the fact that his own party has tried to undermine his efforts.
Now, according to the chair of the Cambria County Republican Party, Maistrano may be the man to beat when he faces Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee in the general election this November.
“The higher the gas prices go, the more electable Mastriano is,” said the chair of the Cambria County Republican Party. “Honestly, I feel this is Mastriano’s campaign to lose.”
Even avowed Democrats are worried that the man they deem as a far-right extremist might have a chance at winning the purple Pennyslvania.
Pat Moulton, a retired nurse and longtime Democrat voter who attended a meet-and-greet with Shapiro last week, said that she gets the sense that Shapiro is in real trouble.
“I have the feeling that the race is too close, and that there is this very vocal group that Mastriano has behind him, and that Shapiro has got a lot of work to do,” she said. “As a Democrat, it’s frighteningly close.”
The possibility that Mastriano could win has Republicans in the state rethinking their strategy.
“Pennsylvania is a pivotal state,” said Charlie Gerow, a Republican strategist who finished 7th in the state’s gubernatorial primary. “It’s going to play an enhanced role in the 2024 elections. For them to not be involved here would be a dereliction of duty.”
