For the first time in their primary race for Pennsylvania governor, the four Republican front-runners — at least according to recent polling — went toe-to-toe on a debate stage.
In a televised hourlong debate Wednesday night that reached every market in Pennsylvania, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, businessman Dave White and former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain outlined to voters why they should be the GOP nominee to face Democrat Josh Shapiro in the fall.
They sparred on the issue of electability, how far they’d go on election reform and who has the right agenda to win former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
As more than 60% of GOP primary voters in recent polling say a Trump endorsements matter in who they’ll support, Mastriano said he’s the only one on stage who’s converted Democrats — and is the only combat veteran in a state with a high veteran population.
Barletta, who was the first sitting congressman to endorse Trump for president in the lead-up to 2016, said Trump wants to see who will work hard and win in this race. He noted that he co-chaired his campaign here and was on the former president’s transition team.
“One thing I’ve learned about President Trump is you don’t speak for him. You just keep on working hard,” Barletta said.
White, who says he’s a Trump conservative in advertisements, said he’s spoken to the former president and would love to have his endorsement. He insisted that he’s the candidate who speaks to the same people Trump spoke to; blue collar workers.
And McSwain, notably the only candidate in the race who Trump has adamantly said shouldn’t be elected, said he championed Trump’s law and order agenda while he was U.S. attorney, putting rioters and looters, violent criminals and corrupt public officials in jail.
“I’m the only candidate who actually served in the Trump administration. He appointed me to a very important job having to do with public safety. What I will do in this race is unite the entire party,” McSwain said.
Meanwhile, the candidates drew a hard line against mail-in balloting and abortion.
Trump's anti-endorsement of Bill McSwain in Pennsylvania's GOP governor's race, has had aftershocks approximately one month away from the May 17 primary.
All said they would repeal mail-in voting and Act 77, and all said they would sign bills to restrict abortion access.
Only candidates who received at least 5% in either the March or April Nexstar/Emerson College/The Hill polls were invited to attend.
The April poll had Barletta and Mastriano in a virtual tie — at 19.8% and 19.4%, respectively — with White in third at 11.6%. McSwain checked in at 7.9%.
State Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman and former U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart would have qualified for the debate if the threshold took into consideration the 27% of undecided voters — allocated to the candidate they were “leaning” toward, according to the poll.
