(The Center Square) – Grassroots conservatives took their first official look at Stacy Garrity as the likely Republican nominee for governor during an annual weekend gathering of state party leaders in Harrisburg.
During her 25-minute speech to win them over, the state Treasurer – a decorated U.S. Army veteran from rural Bradford County – stood proudly under President Donald Trump’s tent as a “strong ally,” fresh off an appearance he made at her Mar-a-Lago campaign fundraiser in Palm Beach on March 30.
“This is our moment, this is our turning point and together, and I mean that, together, every single person in this room, we will restore opportunity, affordability, and promise to the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” she said.
From saying “boys don’t belong in girls' sports” to requiring photo identification to vote to becoming one of the first gubernatorial campaigns to win the president’s backing, Garrity recited her support for a litany of cultural inflection points that helped sweep Republicans into office, and the White House itself, two years ago.
All the while lambasting Gov. Josh Shapiro’s rumored presidential ambitions that would disrupt the second term in office he hopes to win in November.
“My focus is fighting for Pennsylvania families and all Shapiro is focused on fighting with President Trump,” Garrity said. “He has sued him dozens of times, but guess what? He’s using your tax dollars to do it.”
In 2020, Garrity became the first Republican in nearly three decades to unseat a statewide Democratic incumbent when she bested Treasurer Joe Torsella by roughly 53,000 votes. Four years later, she widened that margin eightfold over challenger Erin McClelland.
“Thanks to the hard work of all of you, everybody in this room, we sent President Trump back to the White House and Bob Casey into retirement,” Garrity said to applause in the room.
“There was one other problem facing this Commonwealth in 2024 that we are still faced with today,” she continued. “And that problem’s name is Josh Shapiro.”
In addition to Trump, Garrity rattled off a number of endorsements she’s received from Republicans up and down the ballot, including U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, Attorney General Dave Sunday, Auditor General Tim DeFoor and various legislators serving in the General Assembly.
Still, she believes that the “grassroots” wing of the party is behind her.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who reportedly considered a 2026 run for governor, has sharply criticized the Pennsylvania Republican Party's September endorsement of Garrity for governor.
According to a report from LNP, the senator “gave his blessing” to a write-in campaign that would propel him to the nomination over Garrity, though he has not publicly commented on the effort.
Mastriano addressed the conservative conference on Saturday morning. He primarily centered his speech around criticizing former Gov. Tom Wolf, then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and Health Sec. Rachel Levine over COVID-19 restrictions and the history of the nation with America’s 250th Anniversary taking place this year. He did not mention the 2026 race for governor once, but did take a jab at the state party for, what he believes, not adequately backing his 2022 run.
Mastriano said that his was “an underfunded campaign that the party withheld $20 million for our campaign and we still won the primary, despite having the other opponents, who were well-funded and running against me.”
Lawrence Tabas, who served as the Pennsylvania Republican Party Chairman in 2022, mainly avoided endorsing candidates in primary elections, while the current chairman believes endorsing candidates early can benefit them in the long run.
Speaking to the Center Square on Saturday, Republican state party Chairman Greg Rothman further dismissed concerns about a write-in campaign after spending the evening before with Mastriano in Gettysburg.
“He's not promoting this write-in campaign,” Rothman said. “I've been telling people, we just got to move forward.”
Rothman also emphasized the importance of Trump’s endorsement of Garrity.
“That's all she needs to win this primary,” he said to the Center Square. “And people know her, and she's been elected twice statewide. So, I'm not concerned about that.”
Trump endorsed Mastriano during his 2022 campaign. Mastriano won the GOP nomination, but he lost to Shapiro by 17 points in the general election.
The annual straw poll at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference traditionally serves as a good indicator of how Republican Party primary voters are feeling.
