Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, D, will be the state’s next governor after defeating state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf was term-limited and had to step aside after winning his previous election in 2018 by nearly 17 points.
Shapiro has a long history in Pennsylvania politics. He served in the state House of Representatives from 2005 to 2011 and as Montgomery County commissioner from 2011 to 2017 before becoming attorney general.
Shapiro made the economy and abortion rights two of the cornerstones of his campaign.
Shapiro said abortion is health care and that he would work to expand access to abortion in the state. He vowed to veto any abortion bills passed by the legislature that he described as “Texas-style laws,” referring to the Lone Star State’s abortion ban that made the procedure a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
As attorney general, Shapiro joined a case challenging the Trump administration’s rule that allowed businesses with religious objections to not cover contraception in their employees’ health insurance plans. It ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the justices let the rule stand.
On the economy, Shapiro said he wants to create union jobs by investing in infrastructure across the state. He also wants to expand job skills training and workforce development. In addition, Shapiro said he wants to help the Black community thrive economically and overcome racial and intergenerational wealth gaps. He said if the number of Black-owned businesses was proportionate to the population, the economy would receive a $5.9 trillion yearly boost.
Polling and political scientists alike found Mastriano to be too extreme. He was on the Capitol grounds during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and fully backed former President Donald Trump’s challenges of the 2020 election results. Mastriano also said he’d reset Pennsylvania’s voter rolls by requiring all residents to re-register.
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