WHO CARES? Newly-elected PA Governor Josh Shapiro unbothered by sore loser opponent
Pennsylvania Governor elect-Josh Shapiro (D) could care less that his opponent hasn’t conceded the race. telling CNN’s State of the Union host Dana Bash, “I mean, who cares if he calls, right?” The projected winner, Shapiro was 14 points ahead of GOP candidate Doug Mastriano.
“We had an historic win, more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in history, so I could care less if the guy calls me,” Shapiro said on CNN. “What matters is the people chose me, and I look forward to getting to work for them in January.”
State Senator Mastriano (R), who was endorsed by Trump, took his MAGA role to the extreme — campaigning on a hard-right platform of Christian Nationalism, extreme anti-abortion laws, and cutting school funding.
Mastriano was present at the U.S. Capitol during the attempted insurrection in January 2021, and the Capitol rioter has since been identified as a key player in the conspiracy to throw out the 2020 presidential election results by presenting an alternative slate of electors to Congress, according to the Pennsylvania Capital Star. Mastriano apparently alienated the state’s more moderate and mainstream Republicans, who threw their support behind Shapiro.
“All that adds up to someone who is prepared to undermine democratic choice to get what he wants,” said Michael Chertoff, former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary under President George W. Bush, who is one of 16 former Republican officials from county to national levels to endorse Shapiro. “This is someone who shows an antipathy to the core values of the country and undermines democracy.”
The Trumpian candidate’s association with known anti-semite, Gab founder Andrew Torba, was another point of contention. Torba was paid at least $5,000 for “consultant” work on the state Senator’s campaign. Attorney General Shapiro is Jewish, and four years ago a tragic shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, left 11 dead and seven injured – in what’s been called a hate crime.
“He doesn’t get to pick the winner, the people pick the winner,” Shapiro said. “And in a resounding way, they made clear that they wanted me to lead this commonwealth forward.”
Pennsylvania’s MAGA candidate for United States Senate, Dr. Mehmet Oz, has already conceded his loss to Lt. Governor John Fetterman – though the former television doctor trailed by far less than Mastriano in his race. Tuesday’s red trickle is a sign that America’s moving on from MAGA – and so is the GOP.
Watch the clip of Pennsylvania Governor-elect Josh Shapiro in the video below.
Who cares about a phone call?
The people of Pennsylvania made their voice heard. That's all that matters. pic.twitter.com/05sZjUTmlw
— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) November 13, 2022
Original reporting by Zach Schonfeld at The Hill.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
