Republican panic grows after Mastriano wins


The aftershocks of Tuesday’s primary are still ringing throughout Pennsylvania, but one impact is already clear. Republican voters’ choice of Dougmas Triano in the governor’s election is GOP compliant.

Recent conversations with Republican strategists, donors and lobbyists inside and outside Pennsylvania have revealed anxiety about Mastriano’s nomination, disagreements, and a calm scoring party.

For Tuesday night, Republicans openly use words and phrases such as “suicide mission,” “disaster,” and “Titanic voyage” to believe his candidacy would be a catastrophe for their party. I told you if it was.

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Advisers of some Republican governors spoke on anonymous terms and said they were very dissatisfied with the results and could not choose him. The Mastriano campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Some people in Pennsylvania are billionaire option traders and the state’s most powerful donors by sticking to Bill Maxwayne as governor, despite the fierce opposition of former President Donald Trump. Is blaming Jeff Yas. Others point their finger at the party’s chair, Lawrence Tabas, because he was unable to clear the field. Yet others say Trump should have been completely away from the race, rather than in favor of Mastriano. Tapas did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The 11-hour effort to thwart Mastriano is a more viable option for both Maxwayne and Dave White, a self-financing candidate who has spent at least $ 5 million on self-financing.

Many Republicans thought the idea was useless and too late. Some say that serious efforts to prevent Mastriano’s victory should have started last summer, while others say that Yasu and his allies could have dropped Maxwayne sooner. There was also.

“If they had dried the flour, when Mastriano’s lead was 8-10, they could see the origin of the land and supported Barletta,” said the current Republican governor candidate and now the Democratic Party. Said Sam Katz, who supports Josh Shapiro, a candidate for the Republican Party. ..

“If they spent $ 5 million in three weeks, they could have Trump make another choice and change everything,” Katz said.

Mastriano had collected 44% of the votes as of Thursday morning.

Matthew Bruyette said he was responsible for Commonwealth Partners, which funded Maxwayne’s campaign, and his organization also helped Vice-Governor’s race winner Carrie Del Rosso. He said the criticism came primarily from “consultants and rent-seeking who don’t like us because we confuse their gravy trains.”

Relationship between January 6th and QAnon

Mastriano’s vulnerability is a corps, and GOP operatives lament.

The state senator and the retired US Army colonel have shown a strong attitude towards abortion, which should be illegal under all circumstances, he said. He organized a bus to Washington for a rally in Washington on January 6, 2021, and can be seen in a video crossing a police line at the Capitol when the rally went into riots. He was also a major supporter of the unfounded claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

Mastriano’s name appears in a document released by the Commission investigating the Capitol riots and is in close personal contact with Trump about their common willingness to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. Claims to have been. In February, the Commission requested “documents and information related to the Election Commission’s investigation” in a letter to Mastriano. He refused to say who would be appointed as Secretary of State, an important position to oversee election infrastructure and voting.

Mastriano has appeared in an event related to QAnon, an atypical conspiracy theory that claims to have a secret conspiracy of elite pedophiles running the federal government and other major US agencies. He also made a statement devoted to Islamophobia.

He could be a particularly vulnerable candidate in the crowded suburbs around Philadelphia, the state’s most important political battlefield. On the other side of the state, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette editorial page has already officially approved Shapiro as “the only state-wide candidate who has done everything in the Pennsylvania way.”

Operators from both parties are hoping that Shapiro will blitz Mastriano with an ad that describes him as a dangerous militant, while a few organizations in Mastriano are struggling to raise money.

Even before Mastriano decided to nominate, Shapiro’s campaign aired an ad highlighting his view of abortion and the 2020 elections and Trump, who lost the state to Biden with 80,000 votes. ..

Mastriano showed a few signs during Tuesday’s victory speech that he was ready to shift to a more palatable general election message. Citing his early priorities as governor, he said, “Mandates is gone,” “Jabs for work requirements are gone,” critical racial theory is “finished,” and “biology.” Use the bathroom that your biological anatomy says “only females can play in a biological female team” and “only you can”. “

While Mastriano’s match also affects Shapiro’s carefully cultivated image as a fighter for democracy, his campaign focuses primarily on economic issues such as employment, taxes and inflation. I am planning to do that.

As Attorney General, Shapiro was directly involved in the Pennsylvania government’s proceedings after the 2020 elections and oversaw at least 40 suspected fraudulent votes.

Standby mode

Will the National Republican Party help Mastriano or avoid him? The main players in the Governor’s race appear to be waiting to see how the race develops before making that decision.

Some Republicans believe that despite Mastriano’s weaknesses, the country’s tailwind will help Mastriano win, but for now, Democrats will face Mastriano in November. I’m excited about it. They point out that Shapiro performed better than Biden in Pennsylvania during his reelection race as Prosecutor-General, and hope that Shapiro will be flooded with donations from inside and outside the state.

On Tuesday night, the Republican Governor’s Association issued a lukewarm statement confirming Mastriano’s victory, suggesting he is alone for now.

“Republican voters in Pennsylvania have chosen Doug Mastriano as a candidate for governor,” said Managing Director Dave Rexlord. “RGA continues to participate in competitive governor contests where our support may have an impact.”

The statement leaves room for the Republican governor to help Mastriano when the Pennsylvania race approaches fall.

“We make these decisions based on where we think they are effective,” Governor Pete Ricketts, co-chair of the Nebraska Governor’s Group, told CNN on Sunday. “Our policy is to take part in a race that we think we can win. Therefore, candidates who win in Pennsylvania must show that it will be a good race.”

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