Mastriano breaks silence on election results, uses social media to concede governor's race to Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano conceded to his Democratic challenger Josh Shapiro in a letter posted on social media Sunday evening.
“The results of the 2022 mid-term elections are not what we hoped, prayed and fought so hard for, and yet there is so much for which I am grateful,” Mastriano wrote in a letter posted on Twitter. “We gave this race everything we had to give.
“Difficult to accept as the results are, there is no right course but to concede, which I do, and I look to the challenges ahead. Josh Shapiro will be our next governor, and I ask everyone to give him the opportunity to lead and pray that he leads well.”
— Doug Mastriano (@dougmastriano) November 13, 2022
In the letter, Mastriano said the final results from Tuesday’s election “are still not available”and chided the voting process, saying the state “is in great need of election reform.”
“Pennsylvanians deserve to have faith in our elections,” he wrote. “In my role as a state senator, I will do my very best to help Josh Shapiro deliver that to Pennsylvania and, if he does, I will be the first to acknowledge and applaud his achievement.”
Mastriano, 58, was elected to the state Senate in 2019 as the 33rd District representative, which covers Adams and Franklin counties in the south central section of the state.
Mastriano also wrote in the letter that even though his campaign was “massively outspent,” he was able to “outperform Republican gubernatorial candidates that benefited from millions of dollars and the support of national PACs (political action committees) and organizations that we did not.”
Shapiro’s campaign overwhelmed Mastriano’s underfunded effort, resulting in a landslide 56.1 percent to 42.1 percent — the greatest margin in the state for an open-seat race for governor since 1946.
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Shapiro was able to claim victory before midnight on Election Day. His victory also marks the first time since the 1950s that one party has won three consecutive gubernatorial terms in Pennsylvania. He is scheduled to take the oath in Harrisburg as Pennsylvania’s 48th governor on Jan. 17.
Mastriano’s decision to wait five days to acknowledge his defeat by Shapiro has been notable because of his history of false statements regarding the integrity of the 2020 election.
Among other things, Mastriano bused supporters to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, as former President Donald Trump tried to overturn the legitimate outcome of the presidential race won by President Joe Biden.
In his concession letter to Shapiro, Mastriano also thanked his supporters, campaign workers and his wife, Rebbie, who was a constant companion on the campaign trial. He also had great praise for his running mate, state Rep. Carrie DelRosso, saying: “I could not have asked for a better running mate and I wish her well in what, no doubt, will be a bright future.”
DelRosso, R-Oakmont, became the 33rd state House representative in November 2020 by unseating Democrat Frank Dermody, who held the seat since 1991.
Mastriano also had great praise for his campaign workers.
“I’m indebted to my team, which gave everything they had and asked what more it could give,” he said. “I own them more than I can ever repay.”
Tony LaRussa is a TribLive reporter. A Pittsburgh native, he covers crime and courts in the Alle-Kiski Valley. He can be reached at tlarussa@triblive.com.
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