ICYMI: Republican for Josh: Republican Leaders “Bucking Party to Endorse Democrat Josh Shapiro for Governor”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 7, 2022
Contact:
SPA Press, Press@joshshapiro.org
ICYMI: Republican for Josh: Republican Leaders “Bucking Party to Endorse Democrat Josh Shapiro for Governor”
Republicans tout Shapiro’s record of bringing people together and his vision for moving Pennsylvania forward, call Mastriano an “extremist.”
PENNSYLVANIA – Yesterday, nine Pennsylvania Republican leaders – including former and current officeholders from all levels of government and from across the Commonwealth – endorsed Attorney General Josh Shapiro for Governor.
In breaking with Doug Mastriano, these Republican leaders highlighted Josh’s track record of reaching across the aisle to get things done and his plans to improve the economy, improve our schools, and make our communities safer. They also attacked Mastriano for his extreme and dangerous positions – former Lieutenant Governor Bob Jubelirer said he’s so extreme he “can’t call him a Republican” and current Lawrence County Commissioner Morgan Boyd said he’s “too extreme” and “a divisive figure, which is the last thing that we need right now in office.”
Jubelirer was a longtime state Senator and President Pro Tempore representing Blair, Huntingdon, and Bedford counties, and Boyd currently represents Lawrence County, where Donald Trump won by 30 points in 2020.
This is only the first wave of Republican endorsements, as Josh Shapiro continues to build a strong coalition of support and works to earn the support of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike.
Check out some of what Pennsylvanians have been seeing and reading about Josh’s endorsement by Pennsylvania Republican leaders:
By Julian Routh
In what analysts are calling an unprecedented move in an era of extreme hyperpartisanship, a group of Republican leaders — including a number of former officials who have been stalwarts of Pennsylvania’s GOP establishment for decades in Harrisburg and D.C. — is bucking their party to endorse Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor. […]
Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, said it’s hard to break ranks in this era of negative partisanship and that, even though some Republicans have deviated from former President Donald Trump, it remains “pretty rare.” In Pennsylvania statewide races, it’s even more rare, he said — especially to come out publicly in support of the opposition.
The list of GOP endorsers represents the “bedrock” of the Pennsylvania Republican Party in recent years, Mr. Borick said, and speaks to the many Republicans who aren’t enamored with the direction of the party. Endorsements don’t matter much, he said, but as Mr. Shapiro puts together his case, they’ll serve as evidence against his opponent.
New York Times: Republicans for Josh
By Blake Hounshell, 07/06/22
More interesting for students of Pennsylvania political geography are Shapiro’s local endorsements. They include Morgan Boyd, the chairman of the Board of Commissioners of Lawrence County, which is along the Ohio border about halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh.
That’s some unfriendly territory for Democrats. The county — the self-proclaimed “hot dog capital of the world” that is also home to two of the largest fireworks companies, Pyrotecnico and Zambelli Fireworks — went for Trump in the 2020 presidential election by a margin of nearly 30 percentage points.
In an interview, Boyd said he backed Shapiro not for any partisan reason, but because of his policies. Shapiro has proposed expanding broadband and using apprenticeship programs to bring high-tech jobs to rural areas — ideas that have a lot of purchase in struggling small towns like New Castle, the county seat, which has lost about half its population since 1950.
NBC News: ‘Uphill slog’ for the GOP as Republicans start fleeing Mastriano for Shapiro in Pa.
By Marc Caputo, 07/06/22
When Doug Mastriano bested Pennsylvania’s GOP establishment to win the nomination for governor, top Republicans feared he was too extreme to win independent and mainstream party support in the general election.
Now those predictions are starting to look prescient. […]
Other Republicans told NBC News they’ll just abstain from voting in the governor’s race — warning signs for Mastriano that he’s struggling to broaden his support in one of the country’s tightest swing states.
PennLive: 9 top Republicans endorse Shapiro for Pa. governor, call Mastriano ‘extreme,’ ‘dangerous’
By J.D. Prose
In what Democrat Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign called a “first wave of Republican endorsements,” a group of Pennsylvania GOP luminaries, including two former congressmen, a former lieutenant governor and a former state House speaker, announced they would support Shapiro in November.
The nine Republicans endorsing Shapiro over his GOP opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, pulled no punches, describing Mastriano as “extreme,” “dangerous” and “divisive” in comments provided by the Shapiro campaign.
By Jon Delano, 07/06/22
At age 85, former state Sen. Bob Jubelirer of Altoona was a leader in the Republican party for decades, serving as Republican Senate leader, Senate president and lieutenant governor.
On Wednesday, he endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor, saying the alternative Doug Mastriano was “dangerous.”
The Hill: Group of Pennsylvania Republicans back Democrat Shapiro for governor
By Julia Manchester
A group of Pennsylvania Republicans threw their support behind Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial bid on Wednesday, going against their own party’s gubernatorial nominee, state Sen. Doug Mastriano.
By Chris Brennan
Call them “Never Mastrianos.”
A group of Pennsylvania Republicans with long records in government and politics will form a super PAC Wednesday to support state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor, in a rejection of the GOP nominee, State Sen. Doug Mastriano.
Chris Ullery
Nine Republican leaders from across Pennsylvania on Wednesday endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor over their own party’s nominee, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, saying he is an extreme candidate who would undermine democracy.
PoliticsPA: Nine GOP Leaders Endorse Shapiro
By Steve Ulrich
A group of nine Republicans from across the Commonwealth broke ranks today and offered their endorsement of Josh Shapiro for governor of Pennsylvania.
City and State: Charlie Dent and other former GOP officials endorse Josh Shapiro for governor
By Justin Sweitzer, 7/6/22
Pennsylvania gubernatorial hopeful Josh Shapiro may have picked up his biggest endorsements to date, earning the support of nine former Republican officials who are bucking their party to support the Democratic attorney general’s campaign for governor.
By Daniel Patrick Sheehan, 7/6/22
Charlie Dent, lifelong Republican, says he is endorsing Democrat Josh Shapiro for Pennsylvania governor because his own party’s nominee is a “threat to the rule of law and the constitutional order.”
By Ryan Deto
Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign has earned a slew of endorsements from prominent Republicans.
By Charles Davis, 07/06/22
A group of nine Pennsylvania Republicans has broken with the state GOP and announced support for the Democratic candidate for governor Josh Shapiro, calling his GOP opponent — state Sen. Doug Mastriano — an “extremist” who threatens American democracy.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Former congressmen, House speaker among Republicans endorsing Shapiro
By Peter Hall, 07/06/22
Calling GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano an extremist, nine prominent Pennsylvania Republicans, including two former congressmen and the first woman elected to the state Supreme Court, have endorsed his Democratic opponent, Josh Shapiro.
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