State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who rose to prominence by pushing baseless accusations of election fraud in 2020 and scored a last-minute endorsement from former President Trump, won the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor on Tuesday, per the AP.
Why it matters: Trump's endorsement has continued to be powerful among the Republican base, and he picked the state senator because he "has been with me right from the beginning, and now I have an obligation to be with him."
- Democrats believe Mastriano is vulnerable in the general election given his political positions, as Axios' Jonathan Swan reported.
- Control of Pennsylvania's governor's mansion is likely to determine the fate of abortion access in Pennsylvania should the Supreme Court follow through with overturning Roe v. Wade — and Mastriano is a staunch opponent of abortion rights.
- He has proposed legislation that would ban abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy, but has also said he believes life begins at conception, which could signal his eventual support for a total ban on abortion.
- Outgoing Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who is term-limited, has vetoed several bills aimed at limiting abortion access that were proposed by the Republican-controlled state legislature.
The big picture: Mastriano led an unsuccessful effort to decertify President Biden's victory in the state. He was outside of the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, and has since been subpoenaed by the congressional committee investigating the incident, per WHYY.
- His gubernatorial campaign has largely banned mainstream press coverage.
- Former Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), who finished second, tried to cobble together an anti-Mastriano coalition, with several other candidates dropping out in the final days of the campaign and supporting Barletta.
What’s next: Mastriano will face off against Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro, who ran for the nomination unopposed, in November.
