GOP fears far-right candidate will be Pennsylvania governor nominee
2 years, 7 months ago

GOP fears far-right candidate will be Pennsylvania governor nominee

LA Times  

With six days until Pennsylvania’s primary, Republicans are openly worrying that a leading candidate in the crowded GOP field for governor is unelectable in the fall general election and will fumble away an opportunity for the party to take over the battleground state’s executive suite. Doug Mastriano, 58, a state senator since 2019 and a retired U.S. Army colonel, is running to the right of the nine-person Republican field and against the party’s establishment in a state still roiled by former President Trump’s baseless conspiracy theories that Democrats stole the 2020 election there. That has long made Republican Party officials and movement conservatives uncomfortable about Mastriano’s prospects in a fall general election matchup against Democrat Josh Shapiro, and they are becoming more vocal about it. On Monday, the state Senate’s Republican floor leader, Kim Ward, endorsed a rival candidate, Dave White, and singled out Mastriano as unable to attract the moderate voters necessary to win a general election in Pennsylvania. She added that “winning the primary and losing the general because the candidate is unable to get the voters in the middle isn’t a win.” Mike McMonagle, president of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Coalition, said Mastriano gets a top rating from his organization because he supports a complete ban on abortion, no exceptions.

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History of this topic

GOP 2024 presidential hopefuls pine for endorsement from a very surprising source
1 year, 5 months ago

GOP 2024 presidential hopefuls pine for endorsement from a very surprising source

Raw Story  

Chris Sununu of New Hampshire remains a hot commodity for an endorsement in the crowded GOP presidential field – despite his outspoken opposition of Donald Trump, Fox News reported today. Sununu, who announced June 5 that he won’t enter the GOP race, has been sought out by the dozen candidates challenging Trump as they campaign in the key state of …

GOP field in Pennsylvania Senate race still wide open as candidates consider jumping in
1 year, 6 months ago

GOP field in Pennsylvania Senate race still wide open as candidates consider jumping in

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The GOP primary field in Pennsylvania to challenge Democratic Sen. …

GOP leaders' pandering to extremists has left the party in crisis: analysis
1 year, 9 months ago

GOP leaders' pandering to extremists has left the party in crisis: analysis

Raw Story  

Republican leaders are regretting their years of allying with extremists who have slowly become the base voters of their party — and are stopping the party from nominating candidates capable of winning key elections, according to an analysis in The New Republic published on Thursday. Sen. Mitt Romney told reporters that Trump's endorsement was a "kiss of death," while Senate …

Candidates who backed overturning Trump loss are rebuffed
2 years, 1 month ago

Candidates who backed overturning Trump loss are rebuffed

Associated Press  

Republicans made a striking decision earlier this year to nominate candidates for top statewide posts in swing states who backed overturning President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020. Mathew DePerno, an attorney who filed a lawsuit spreading Trump’s election lies in Michigan in 2020, lost his bid to be that state’s attorney general. Lies and conspiracy theories about elections burrowed deeply …

Waiting For God At Doug Mastriano’s Election Night Watch Party
2 years, 1 month ago

Waiting For God At Doug Mastriano’s Election Night Watch Party

Huff Post  

Supporters pray as they attend Republican candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania Doug Mastriano's 2022 U.S. midterm election night party, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Nov. 8, 2022. Mike Segar via Reuters CAMP HILL, Pa. — “I just feel like he has been chosen for this, I really do,” said Kristin Bailey, a healthcare worker from York, as she waited in line outside …

6 things to watch ahead of high-stakes midterm elections
2 years, 1 month ago

6 things to watch ahead of high-stakes midterm elections

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — After months of primaries, campaign events and fundraising pleas, the midterm elections that will determine the balance of power in Washington and state capitals are finally here. Democrats were initially hopeful that the Supreme Court’s decision to eliminate abortion rights might be enough to disrupt historical trends — or at least limit their losses — but party leaders …

Oz-Mastriano: An awkward pair atop Pennsylvania’s GOP ticket
2 years, 1 month ago

Oz-Mastriano: An awkward pair atop Pennsylvania’s GOP ticket

Associated Press  

MALVERN, Pa. — On a chilly Saturday morning in mid-October, state and national Republican Party leaders made their way to a hotel patio restaurant in the critically important Philadelphia suburbs to energize loyalists heading into next month’s election that features an awkwardly fitting pair at the top of the Pennsylvania ticket. He’s horrible.” Mastriano will lose Republican votes in Philadelphia’s …

The Surge newsletter, 2022 midterms: Cortez Masto vs. Laxalt in Nevada, Oz vs. Fetterman in Pennsylvania, and Johnson vs. Barnes in Wisconsin.
2 years, 2 months ago

The Surge newsletter, 2022 midterms: Cortez Masto vs. Laxalt in Nevada, Oz vs. Fetterman in Pennsylvania, and Johnson vs. Barnes in Wisconsin.

Slate  

Democratic candidates and groups took plenty of criticism over the summer for spending money to elevate crazy GOP candidates in primaries. The riskiest bet of all was in the Pennsylvania governor’s race, where the campaign of Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro spent money to boost the profile of Doug Mastriano in the Republican primary. Pennsylvania is a tipping-point state in the …

GOP Gov. Candidate: Women Should Be Charged With Murder For Violating Abortion Ban
2 years, 2 months ago

GOP Gov. Candidate: Women Should Be Charged With Murder For Violating Abortion Ban

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Doug Mastriano, the Donald Trump-backed GOP nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, in 2019 agreed that women who violated a so-called fetal heartbeat abortion ban he was sponsoring should be charged with murder. In an interview with radio station WITF that was unearthed by NBC News this week, the state senator was asked whether a woman “who decided …

Mastriano's rumored pick to run Pennsylvania elections has long history of pro-QAnon posts
2 years, 3 months ago

Mastriano's rumored pick to run Pennsylvania elections has long history of pro-QAnon posts

Raw Story  

Pennsylvania does not elect its secretary of state directly -- rather, that position is assigned by the person who gets elected governor. Because of this, many Democrats in Pennsylvania have argued that it is particularly important to stop Trump-backed candidate Doug Mastriano from winning this November, as he could appoint someone who could destroy the state's ability to hold free …

Trump calls Mastriano and Oz vital to a Republican takeover in 2022 and 2024
2 years, 3 months ago

Trump calls Mastriano and Oz vital to a Republican takeover in 2022 and 2024

Raw Story  

WILKES-BARRE TWP., Pa. – Campaigning for Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial and U.S. Senate nominees on Saturday, former President Donald Campaigning for Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial and U.S. Senate nominees on Saturday, former President Donald Trump cast Doug Mastriano and Dr. Mehmet Oz as vital leaders in a fight to take back the state and country starting with this year’s midterm election. Trump’s …

GOP Election Deniers Really Didn't Like Biden's Speech Calling Out GOP Election Deniers
2 years, 3 months ago

GOP Election Deniers Really Didn't Like Biden's Speech Calling Out GOP Election Deniers

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING President Joe Biden used a prime-time speech Thursday to warn Americans that democracy is “under assault” from “MAGA Republicans” who sought to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election and have pledged to exert more partisan power over future contests. Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem, one of several election deniers who won a GOP secretary of …

Mastriano’s religious values resonate with supporters, but poll shows him down among Republicans
2 years, 3 months ago

Mastriano’s religious values resonate with supporters, but poll shows him down among Republicans

Raw Story  

Supporters who attended Republican gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano’s campaign events in suburban Philadelphia this week said his campaign messaging hits all the right notes for them. But a poll of registered Pennsylvania voters released Thursday shows Mastriano lagging behind Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro among undecided voters and in support from members of his own party. “So he has to go …

More than half of GOP governor nominees have questioned or denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election
2 years, 4 months ago

More than half of GOP governor nominees have questioned or denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election

CNN  

Washington CNN — The Republican nominee in at least 22 of this year’s 36 gubernatorial races is someone who has rejected, declined to affirm, raised doubts about, or tried to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. Arizona: Kari Lake Republican gubernatorial candidate for Arizona Kari Lake speaks to supporters during a campaign event at the Whiskey Roads Restaurant …

Election deniers are one step closer to taking control of voting in 4 key states
2 years, 4 months ago

Election deniers are one step closer to taking control of voting in 4 key states

CNN  

CNN — Republican candidates who espouse Donald Trump’s false claims that the last presidential election was stolen are steadily advancing through primaries for positions to oversee the next one in swing states. The state party endorsed Kristina Karamo, who has claimed she witnessed irregularities during the last election, for secretary of state and Matthew DePerno, who was involved in a …

Doug Mastriano Is Keeping A Big Secret From Pennsylvania Voters
2 years, 4 months ago

Doug Mastriano Is Keeping A Big Secret From Pennsylvania Voters

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Doug Mastriano has a secret. Because Pennsylvania is among the states in which the governor appoints the secretary of state, the 2022 gubernatorial race is essentially a “Buy one, get one” deal for Republican election deniers: A Mastriano victory all but ensures that the next secretary of the commonwealth will be someone who shares his anti-democratic zeal …

GOP warms to far-right gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania
2 years, 4 months ago

GOP warms to far-right gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republicans are warming up to Doug Mastriano. Mastriano dismissed them as “has-beens.” Still, the party’s traditional donor community around the state is — by many accounts — sitting on their wallets at a time when Mastriano is badly lagging Shapiro in fundraising. No GOP contender for governor in the U.S. did more to subvert the 2020 presidential …

Analysis: Jan. 6 committee revelations may give Republicans opening to take on Trump in 2024
2 years, 5 months ago

Analysis: Jan. 6 committee revelations may give Republicans opening to take on Trump in 2024

CNN  

CNN — Nothing ever really seems to bring Donald Trump down. As the committee’s vice chair, GOP Rep. Liz Cheney, put it on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, “We are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before – and that is a former President who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic.” …

Election deniers quiet on fraud claims after primary wins
2 years, 6 months ago

Election deniers quiet on fraud claims after primary wins

Associated Press  

Nevada Republican Jim Marchant insisted there hadn’t been a legitimate election in his state in more than a decade. Dozens of GOP candidates who sought former President Donald Trump’s backing in Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and elsewhere have spent months parroting his baseless claims of 2020 election fraud but then declared victory without raising such concerns in their own elections. …

Mastriano brings election denier onto Pa. governor campaign
2 years, 6 months ago

Mastriano brings election denier onto Pa. governor campaign

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Doug Mastriano, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for governor who has pushed Donald Trump’s election lies, said Monday that he had appointed Trump’s former campaign lawyer as a senior legal adviser to his own campaign. Ellis, who also promoted Trump’s election lies, was with Mastriano the night he won his gubernatorial primary and, speaking on her podcast last month, …

Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis to serve as legal adviser to GOP's Doug Mastriano
2 years, 6 months ago

Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis to serve as legal adviser to GOP's Doug Mastriano

Raw Story  

One of Donald Trump's former campaign lawyers is joining the gubernatorial campaign team for Republican Doug Mastriano. Jenna Ellis, who worked on 2020 election challenges with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, will serve as a senior legal adviser to Mastriano, the GOP nominee for Pennsylvania governor and fellow election fraud conspiracy theorist. " "The talent, experience, and legal expertise Jenna brings …

How Pa. GOP gov pick could turn election lies into action
2 years, 7 months ago

How Pa. GOP gov pick could turn election lies into action

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Doug Mastriano is not the only candidate who won a Republican primary on Tuesday after embracing Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen. “We have literally opened the door to a conspiracy theorist who was at the insurrection.” As the reality of Mastriano’s victory settled in on Wednesday, there were early signs that GOP officials …

Takeaways: Election denier wins, bad behavior dooms Cawthorn
2 years, 7 months ago

Takeaways: Election denier wins, bad behavior dooms Cawthorn

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump’s influence was enough to elevate his Senate candidate to victory in North Carolina on Tuesday, while his pick in Pennsylvania remained in a tough fight in that state’s Senate primary. Takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Kentucky, Idaho and Oregon: TRUMP’S WINNING STREAK CONTINUES The former president entered the primary season on …

Tight Pennsylvania GOP Senate race; Mastriano wins gov nod
2 years, 7 months ago

Tight Pennsylvania GOP Senate race; Mastriano wins gov nod

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Donald Trump’s preferred candidate in Pennsylvania’s Senate Republican primary was essentially tied with a more traditional rival, while his pick for governor notched a commanding victory Tuesday as the former president worked to expand his hold on the GOP. In the town of Hamburg, Pennsylvania, Stacy Steinly, a 51-year-old school bus assistant, said she chose Mastriano because …

Trump-backed Mastriano wins GOP Pennsylvania governor nod
2 years, 7 months ago

Trump-backed Mastriano wins GOP Pennsylvania governor nod

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Doug Mastriano won the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor on Tuesday, beating eight other candidates and a party establishment that had tried to head off his nomination over fears that he is too extreme to win the general election in the presidential battleground. Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army colonel and state senator since 2019 who was endorsed …

A far-right election denier wins GOP governor primary in swing state of Pennsylvania
2 years, 7 months ago

A far-right election denier wins GOP governor primary in swing state of Pennsylvania

NPR  

A far-right election denier wins GOP governor primary in swing state of Pennsylvania Enlarge this image toggle caption Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano has emerged as the winner from a crowded Republican primary for governor, according to a race call from The Associated Press. Sponsor Message Republican establishment panic The lead that …

Trump backs Mastriano in Pennsylvania GOP governor primary
2 years, 7 months ago

Trump backs Mastriano in Pennsylvania GOP governor primary

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s Republican primary for governor, siding with a far-right candidate who was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and has worked doggedly to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. “There is no one in Pennsylvania who has done more, or fought harder, for Election …

Another extreme wing of the Republican Party is emerging – and it's not all Trump
2 years, 7 months ago

Another extreme wing of the Republican Party is emerging – and it's not all Trump

Raw Story  

Vance, the Ohioan who grew up poor, joined the Marines, got a Yale law degree, wrote a bestseller about his hardscrabble upbringing, became a venture capitalist, and panned Donald Trump before becoming a convert to Trumpism and winning Ohio’s GOP primary for U.S. Senate, is one brand of 2022’s Republican candidates—a shapeshifter, as the New York Times’ conservative columnist Bret …

Pa. governor hopeful drops out, backs rival as primary nears
2 years, 7 months ago

Pa. governor hopeful drops out, backs rival as primary nears

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Republican candidate for Pennsylvania governor said Thursday that he was ending his campaign and endorsing rival Lou Barletta, a move that comes as GOP leaders warn that leading candidate Doug Mastriano is too far right to win in a general election. Jake Corman, Pennsylvania’s ranking state senator, announced his endorsement of Barletta at a news conference …

Pennsylvania GOP scrambling behind closed doors to ensure Trump-backed candidate loses
2 years, 7 months ago

Pennsylvania GOP scrambling behind closed doors to ensure Trump-backed candidate loses

Raw Story  

Republicans in Pennsylvania are expressing growing concern about the possibility of the party being defeated in November for the state's gubernatorial election. As the primary election approaches, "GOP gubernatorial campaigns and leading state and county officials have been in discussions about uniting behind a single candidate to avoid a scenario in which Mastriano wins the crowded race by taking advantage …

GOP fears far-right candidate will be PA governor nominee
2 years, 7 months ago

GOP fears far-right candidate will be PA governor nominee

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — With six days until Pennsylvania’s primary, Republicans are openly worrying that a leading candidate in the crowded GOP field for governor is unelectable in the fall general election and will fumble away an opportunity for the party to take over the battleground state’s executive suite. Doug Mastriano, 58, a state senator since 2019 and a retired U.S. …

GOP pins hopes on Nevada’s Laxalt to help win Senate control
2 years, 7 months ago

GOP pins hopes on Nevada’s Laxalt to help win Senate control

Associated Press  

LAS VEGAS — The man Republicans hope could be their 51st senator, putting them back in power, took the stage recently at a rowdy country music bar in Las Vegas packed with excited voters. “This election will be focused on inflation, the price of gas and Joe Biden’s first two years in office,” said Jeremy Hughes, a GOP strategist in …

Trump intervenes in Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial primary
2 years, 8 months ago

Trump intervenes in Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial primary

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump waded into Pennsylvania’s GOP gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, slamming a former acolyte over his alleged failure to investigate Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud. McSwain, in a statement released by his campaign, did not address Trump directly but said, “I’m proud of my record as U.S. Attorney.” “I’ve prosecuted and put people …

Big GOP primary field for governor has party leaders worried
2 years, 9 months ago

Big GOP primary field for governor has party leaders worried

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A massive Republican primary field for governor in Pennsylvania is spurring growing discomfort among party leaders that a widely splintered primary vote could produce a winner who cannot beat Democrat Josh Shapiro in November’s general election. “We don’t want to allow a bad or poor candidate for the general election to potentially get through with a plurality …

Senator seeking GOP governor nomination issued 1/6 subpoena
2 years, 10 months ago

Senator seeking GOP governor nomination issued 1/6 subpoena

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania state senator who was in regular communication with Donald Trump as the then-president sought to reverse his 2020 election loss, and was outside the U.S. Capitol the afternoon of the Jan. 6 rioting, was subpoenaed Tuesday by the congressional committee looking into the insurrection. Days after President Joe Biden’s victory was certified in Pennsylvania, Mastriano …

Mastriano all but declares in race for Pennsylvania governor
3 years ago

Mastriano all but declares in race for Pennsylvania governor

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Republican state senator who has helped spread conspiracy theories about last year’s presidential election and led opposition to pandemic-related shutdowns, vaccine mandates and masking orders is all but officially declaring that he will run for governor. Mastriano, 57, has become a one-man force in conservative politics in Pennsylvania, leading anti-mask protests last year, pushing to overturn …

How a Pennsylvania state senator helped fuel Trump’s election lies
3 years, 2 months ago

How a Pennsylvania state senator helped fuel Trump’s election lies

CNN  

CNN — Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano went out of his way to help advance former President Donald Trump’s election lies: He spearheaded a “hearing” at a hotel in Gettysburg a few weeks after the 2020 election, where Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani made false claims about election fraud. And he was briefly in charge of the Pennsylvania state …

Trump looms large in Pennsylvania’s GOP primaries in 2022
3 years, 6 months ago

Trump looms large in Pennsylvania’s GOP primaries in 2022

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — With Pennsylvania’s wide-open races for governor and U.S. Senate taking shape, Republican candidates with strong ties to Donald Trump are running and considered strong contenders for the party’s nominations — a powerful sign of the former president’s enduring popularity within the GOP. “Donald Trump is still the leader of the Republican Party and anybody who believes otherwise, …

Trump ‘asked me’ to run for governor, state lawmaker says
3 years, 7 months ago

Trump ‘asked me’ to run for governor, state lawmaker says

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Republican state senator who has talked of possibly running for governor of Pennsylvania in 2022 said Wednesday that former President Donald Trump asked him to run and promised to campaign for him. Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, said he met with Trump on Monday for “an hour and fifteen minutes” at Trump Tower in New York and, …

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