Pennsylvania Republicans should move on from Doug Mastriano

Former Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Doug Mastriano is expected to announce his decision Thursday night whether he will be running for U.S. Senate and oppose incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) in the 2024 election. He stated earlier this week that he would do a Facebook Live event on Thursday evening. But if Republicans want to have any chance at reclaiming a seat in the Senate, voters should move on from Mastriano.

Mastriano has shown he cannot win in a general election. He was trounced in the 2022 gubernatorial election by Josh Shapiro, obtaining less than 42% of all votes and losing by nearly 1 million. This was telling, given that Pennsylvania voted for Donald Trump in 2016 and in 2020 voted for Joe Biden but only by a narrow margin of 1.2%. Mastriano is an ardent supporter of strong conservative values, which is a positive. However, he routinely stumbled in getting his message across, especially to independents.

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Mastriano did win most of the Keystone State’s rural counties but, like nearly every Republican candidate, struggled immensely in urban areas such as Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and their surrounding counties. Going against an established candidate such as Casey, whose father was also a relatively beloved governor of the state, will yield only more disastrous results this time around if Mastriano is the Republican candidate.

Additionally, Mastriano ran a terrible campaign. It was disorganized, chaotic, and inefficient, and there has not been anything to suggest the 2024 version would be any different, even though, admittedly, it might be too early to make such a statement. His campaign was too reluctant to confront the legacy media, somewhat understandable given their lack of objectivity and strong left-wing positions, but also fumbled many opportunities with media representatives more aligned with his values.

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Most importantly, it should be acknowledged that Casey represents a formidable foe in the election. Incumbents enjoy a significant advantage in elections and, most of the time, get reelected. Add in the fact that Casey isn’t really a controversial political figure who could rile up a Republican base, and it’s going to be a tall task to try to defeat him. Republican voters would be better suited to find another candidate who supports their values and stands up to left-wing attacks but also runs an efficient campaign and effectively delivers his or her political message to voters. By all available evidence, Mastriano isn’t that person.