WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity will face off this fall in a ticket-topping race for governor in the country’s largest swing state.
The matchup is no surprise, as both cleared the fields in their primary contests. But the general election is notable — and the impact could reverberate beyond Pennsylvania in future elections.
Shapiro, a Democrat who enjoys high approval ratings in the battleground state, enters the contest as a heavy favorite looking to cement his reputation as Pennsylvania’s dominant political figure.
But those dynamics could shift in the months leading up to the November election, and Garrity and Republicans are eager to stop Shapiro — or at least dent his reputation — before he tries to go national.
In a primary night address, Shapiro took direct aim at President Donald Trump and his administration, saying “the values we hold dear are being squandered by a president and his band of enablers hell-bent on injecting chaos, cruelty and corruption into our daily lives.”
He mentioned “corruption” 12 times in his address to supporters.
“[W]e are here tonight because we choose not to be captive to the chaos, not to be a part of the cruelty, and not to turn a blind eye to the corruption,” he said.
Shapiro, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, is eager to lead the Democratic ticket to big results this year. He has zoomed in on four swing House races in the state that will be set after Tuesday, making endorsements in all four of those Democratic primaries. He is looking to play a major role in flipping those seats from Republican control — and potentially swinging the House majority for Democrats nationally.
Those contests loomed large in his Tuesday address.
“By winning these congressional seats here, we can elect a Congress that does not shy away from the responsibility to expose wrongdoing and hold this president and his administration accountable for their corruption,” Shapiro said. “We have a historic opportunity to flip the U.S. House of Representatives — and I know we’re ready to do our part, Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro also hopes to help flip a handful of contested state Senate seats this fall that could give Democrats unified control of state government in Harrisburg, which would give him the ability to pass a more ambitious legislative agenda next year.
“And in our state capital, we have the opportunity to keep moving our commonwealth forward by protecting our state House majority and delivering a Democratic majority in the state Senate for the first time since 1992,” he said.
Shapiro won his 2022 election over Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano by about 15 points, carrying a number of traditionally Republican counties. Democrats are hopeful that he can run up similarly large margins this fall and help carry party members in tough races over the finish line.
Republicans expect Garrity, who has been elected statewide in her own right before, to be a significantly stronger nominee than the flawed Mastriano was four years ago. She has closely tied her campaign to Trump, who has endorsed her bid.
Ava Pitruzzello, a Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesperson, said in a statement, “Stacy Garrity is an extreme, MAGA candidate who is more focused on showing her loyalty to Donald Trump than standing up for our Commonwealth.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, chair of the Republican Governors Association, touted Garrity as someone who can “restore the commonwealth,” criticizing Shapiro in a statement as being “out of touch” and chasing “his political ambitions.”
There has been little spending in the race so far — less than a million dollars from each campaign on ads, according to AdImpact. But that’s expected to change dramatically in Pennsylvania, which regularly draws tens of millions of dollars in campaign advertising.
