PA State Treasurer Launches Gubernatorial Bid to Oust Shapiro

Pennsylvania state Treasurer Stacy Garrity on Monday announced her bid for the Republican nomination for governor in the 2026 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election.

If Garrity wins the GOP nod, she then would face off against incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. 

In her announcement video, Garrity criticized Shapiro for how he handled sexual harassment allegations against a member of his Cabinet. 

“I will never embarrass Pennsylvania with scandals, unconscionable behavior, deleted emails and cover-ups and a total lack of transparency like Shapiro has,” Garrity, 61, stated in her announcement video.

The state treasurer’s campaign video also accused the Pennsylvania governor of neglecting his home state at the expense of preparing for a prospective 2028 presidential run.

“While Josh Shapiro has been spending his time running for president and fundraising in California and other liberal states, raising money from far-left megadonors like [Michael] Bloomberg and [George] Soros, critical problems in Pennsylvania have been ignored,” a narrator opines in the video. 

Shapiro has also been criticized in recent months over his rhetoric regarding a bill in the Pennsylvania General Assembly that would ban males from competing in female sports in public schools and state universities. The Pennsylvania governor called the bill’s proponents—who include five state Senate Democrats who voted in favor of the legislation—“extremist legislators.”

As of now, Garrity is the only Republican to officially declare candidacy for the GOP gubernatorial nod. Doug Mastriano, the 2022 Republican nominee for governor, has expressed an interest in running again. Mastriano lost to Shapiro by more than 14 points (700,000 votes) in the election.

Garrity’s relationship with President Donald Trump was touted in her campaign announcement.

“Stacy Garrity is also a strong ally of President Trump, and like the president, supports protecting health care and welfare benefits for vulnerable Americans while requiring able-bodied recipients to work for their benefits and ending benefits for those here illegally,” a narrator says in the video.

Garrity is a retired Army colonel who served three deployments abroad including in the Gulf War and in Iraq in the early 2000s. For that service, Garrity was awarded the Bronze Star twice, as well as the Legion of Merit. Prior to being elected to statewide office, Garrity worked as an executive at Global Tungsten & Powders, a metal supplier. 

This isn’t the first time Garrity has sought to unseat a Democrat incumbent in Pennsylvania politics. In 2020, she successfully defeated then-state Treasurer Joe Torsella. Garrity has been the treasurer of Pennsylvania since January 2021. 

The post PA State Treasurer Launches Gubernatorial Bid to Oust Shapiro appeared first on The Daily Signal.