Election Conspiracy Theorist Doug Mastriano Wins GOP Nomination For Pennsylvania Governor

After polls closed on Tuesday, controversial state Sen. Doug Mastriano was projected to win Pennsylvania’s Republican nomination to go up against Democrat Josh Shapiro for term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf’s (D) vacated seat in November.

Mastriano beat out a crowded field that included former U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, former Marine and U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Bill McSwain and businessman Dave White.

Mastriano’s far-right agenda has sparked concern in some Republican circles, with some doubting that he will be able to hold off uncontested Shapiro, who is currently the state attorney general. He’s known for furthering former President Donald Trump‘s allegations of 2020 election fraud. He attended the “Stop the Steal” rally prior to last year’s January 6 Capitol attack and he has also voiced support for banning abortion as early as six weeks into a woman’s pregnancy.

According to a poll based on results recorded from Thursday to Sunday, Mastriano was leading the field with 29 percent of the votes. McSwain was in a distant second with 18 percent of the votes. Last week, some Republicans made an effort beat Mastriano by pressuring other candidates to drop from the race so their supporters could align with one candidate, not named Mastriano. After Shapiro began airing pro-Mastriano ads, concern grew further that Shaprio wanted him to win, because he saw him as the weaker opponent.