PHILADELPHIA — In early May, Republican Party insiders in Pennsylvania were scrambling behind the scenes to thin the field in the governor’s race and unify around a single candidate — anyone, basically, but Doug Mastriano. Money was transferred. A poll was commissioned.
Their thinking was that Mastriano, a state senator who assisted in Donald Trump’s attempts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election, was too extreme and unseasoned to take on Attorney General Josh Shapiro, then the presumed Democratic nominee, in November.
The plan failed spectacularly. Mastriano, later endorsed by Trump, destroyed the eight other candidates.
