(Fwrd Axis) — State Sen. Doug Mastriano has won the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania, FWRD AXIS News projected Tuesday.
Doug Mastriano led his rivals by more than 20 points as of 10:30 PM ET. He will now go up against Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro, the state attorney general, who ran unopposed, in November.
Mastriano won with a platform of Christian nationalism, election denialism, and a rejection of Covid mitigation policies. He has said if he wins the general election, he would “reset” the state’s voter rolls so everyone would “have to re-register” if he had to oversee the elections.
“Everyone in this room can believe whatever they want, and they should not be mocked for that,” Mastriano told his supporters. “And that includes us on the Republican side. And I will not stand for you mocking, you know, me, my wife, my family, or what we believe or anyone in this room here. This is America.”
Mastriano made headlines for blocking reporters from his rallies and former President Donald Trump made a late endorsement after Mastriano protested outside the Capitol following Trump’s loss in the 2020 election. Additionally, his campaign paid to bus people to Washington for the rally that preceded the riot. He has been subpoenaed by the January 6 Committee but declined to appear.
In a statement after Mastriano’s win, Shapiro called him “a dangerous extremist who wants to take away our freedoms.”
“The contrast in this election could not be clearer — Doug Mastriano wants to ban abortion without exceptions, restrict the right to vote and spread conspiracy theories, and destroy the union way of life for hard-working Pennsylvanians,” he said. “Mastriano wants to dictate how Pennsylvanians live their lives — that’s not freedom.”
Dave Rexrode, the executive director of the Republican Governors Association, blasted Shapiro and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, saying the commitment remains to get a Republican in the governor’s mansion.
“Whoever the nominee is, is our favorite candidate,” he said. “And we have to approach it that way.”
