Polling suggests the gubernatorial campaign of Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), an election denier who is trying to replace outgoing Democratic Governor Tom Wolf, isn’t going great.
Mastriano was even in D.C. on January 6, although he hasn’t been charged with any crimes and apparently didn’t personally perpetrate violence. In Pennsylvania, he also helped facilitate the spread of election lies, hosting a hearing where Trump goons Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis appeared and pushed nonsense about the then-recently concluded presidential race. Trump also spoke at the hearing — via speakerphone. On the legislative side, Mastriano sponsored a troubling measure that could have basically legalized roving groups perpetrating voter intimidation. It would have allowed any otherwise eligible Pennsylvanian to serve as an election observer in any locale in the state — which could have allowed election conspiracy theorists from far-flung locales to descend on communities with marginalized members targeted by false fraud claims. Now, a poll from USA Today and Suffolk University shows Mastriano losing by 11 percent.
The Trump-backed contender had 37 percent, and his opponent nabbed 48 percent. He is running against Democratic nominee and current state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, and as could be expected, Shapiro’s lead is well outside the survey’s margin of error. The poll also found a generally low public opinion of Mastriano. Just 31 percent of respondents indicated a favorable view of the candidate, while 47 percent shared an unfavorable one — nearly exactly opposite to the numbers seen for Shapiro. Mastriano’s advocacy on behalf of claims of imaginary fraud even extended to him getting in touch with who was then a top official at the U.S. Justice Department, Richard Donoghue. After the departure of Bill Barr, Donoghue became the acting second-in-command at the department.
“Election fraud is real and prevalent in Pennsylvania. Yet, despite evidence, our Governor and Secretary of State inexplicably refuse to investigate,” Mastriano claimed to Donoghue in December 2020. His claims were false. Authorities, including in Pennsylvania, conducted comprehensive examinations of the results, finding no indications of widespread fraud. Mastriano, who spent decades in military service, hasn’t even been in office that long, having been first elected in 2019. The very next year, his profile was shooting upwards: Trump cited his efforts in conversations with Donoghue about imaginary election fraud, according to the former official. Meanwhile, Mehmet Oz — the multiple mansion-owning and accidentally Hitler’s car-promoting dog-killer who until semi-recently lived in another state — also continues running behind his Democratic opponent, John Fetterman, in polls of this year’s Pennsylvania Senate race.
Image: Gage Skidmore/ Creative Commons
