A crowded Republican primary field has emerged in the race to succeed Gov. Tom Wolf, who will leave office next year.
Wolf, the Democratic incumbent, is term-limited and thus unable under state law to seek a third consecutive term. The race to replace him has been ranked a toss-up by the Cook Political Report.
Many of the nine Republicans in the race are still vying for the endorsement of former President Donald Trump as a means to set themselves apart from their competition. But Trump has only indicated whom he will not endorse: William McSwain.
"Do not vote for Bill McSwain, a coward, who let our country down," Trump said in a statement blasting his former appointee for U.S. attorney for failing to back his unfounded claims of a stolen election. McSwain had been campaigning on his ties to Trump.
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Other Republican candidates in the race include state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a combat veteran who has sought to campaign as a supporter of Trump. WHTM noted Mastriano has faced questions about sponsoring buses to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A recent poll from Franklin and Marshall College showed Mastriano leading the Republican field, closely followed by McSwain and former Rep. Lou Barletta. But 40% of voters remained undecided.
Barletta, a former mayor of Hazleton and a House member from 2003-11, ran an unsuccessful campaign in 2018 as the Republican nominee for Senate in a race in which he was endorsed by Trump.
Other candidates in the race include former Rep. Melissa Hart, conservative activist Charlie Gerow, Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph Gale, Dr. Nche Zama, and businessman Dave White.
Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman recently moved to exit the race but reportedly stayed in with Trump’s encouragement.
The winner of the primary will likely face Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is running unopposed in his party’s May 17 primary.
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Shapiro is seen as an up-and-coming Democratic politician, whom conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt recently described as a formidable challenger to Republicans given his center-left rather than progressive record.