GOP fears far-right candidate will be PA governor nominee

By MARC LEVY
Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — With six days until Pennsylvania’s primary, Republicans are openly worrying that a leading candidate in the crowded GOP field running for governor is unelectable in the fall general election. Doug Mastriano, a state senator since 2019, has run to the right of the nine-person Republican field and against the party’s establishment in a state still roiled by former President Donald Trump’s baseless election conspiracy theories. Dave Ball, the chairman of the Washington County Republican Party, said Republicans are concerned that Mastriano’s appeal is narrow. But, he says, Republicans will need Mastriano and his voters, and vice versa, to beat Shapiro, regardless of who wins the primary.