Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity picked up a major boost in her bid for governor Monday, as top Republican legislative leaders lined up behind her campaign. The endorsements mark a significant snub for state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the party’s 2022 nominee, who has not yet decided whether to run again.
Most significant were the endorsements of Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) and Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Armstrong), who both work with Mastriano in the upper chamber.
House Republican Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford) and Republican Caucus Chair Rep. Martina White (R-Philadelphia) also announced their support for Garrity.
“I am incredibly honored to have their support,” Garrity said. “As state treasurer, I’ve worked every day to protect taxpayer dollars and fight for fiscal responsibility. As governor, I will bring that same focus and determination.”
Ward praised Garrity as a proven winner. “Her record-breaking electoral success last year should tell everyone that Stacy is the best candidate to beat Josh Shapiro next year,” Ward said.
Pittman pointed to Garrity’s military service and record as treasurer, saying she has demonstrated “principle, fiscal responsibility, and commitment to doing what is in the best interest of the people you serve.”
Topper added that Garrity “is tough, disciplined, and has shown that she can win,” while White called her “the fighter that Pennsylvanians need.”
The coordinated endorsements underscore GOP leaders’ determination to avoid a repeat of the bruising 2022 Republican primary, when seven candidates battled for the nomination and the party declined to endorse. Mastriano emerged as the nominee but lost the general election to Democrat Josh Shapiro by nearly 15 points.
Many Keystone State Republicans have made it clear they don’t want another Mastriano candidacy, one that political pros say would be doomed from the beginning.
Nominating Mastriano “would be the worst decision ever that happened for the Pennsylvania Republican Party,” Pittsburgh-based political journalist and author Salena Zito told DVJournal in a recent podcast.
“If it’s Mastriano, I would say that it’s going to be a tough time for any down-ballot Republican running, because he does not possess the skills, the message or the tactics to win a statewide race.”
Asked about the endorsements for Garrity, Mastriano told DVJournal, “Let the people decide.” He has not announced whether he will enter the race.
The Republican State Committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 19–20 in State College to vote on whether to formally endorse a candidate ahead of next year’s primary.
Garrity, 64, has quickly risen in Pennsylvania politics. First elected state treasurer in 2020, she broke a 16-year Democratic hold on the office. Four years later, she was reelected with nearly 3.5 million votes, the most ever cast for a candidate in a statewide race — surpassing the previous record set by Shapiro’s 2022 total.
Before entering politics, Garrity worked for three decades for Global Tungsten and Powders Corp., becoming the company’s first female vice president. She also served 30 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, retiring as a colonel after three Middle East deployments. While commanding Camp Bucca, a detention facility in Iraq, she earned the nickname “Angel of the Desert” for her fair treatment of prisoners.
As treasurer, she has overseen the return of more than $1 billion in unclaimed property to Pennsylvanians and expanded the PA ABLE program, which helps residents with disabilities save for the future.
If elected, Garrity would be Pennsylvania’s first woman governor.
Democrats wasted no time in attacking Garrity’s candidacy. The state party issued a statement Monday criticizing her position on abortion, declaring: “Pennsylvanians can’t trust Stacy Garrity to protect their reproductive rights.”
With Shapiro reportedly considering a White House run in the future, Pennsylvania’s governor’s race is expected to be one of the nation’s most closely watched contests in 2026, with both parties gearing up for an expensive and combative campaign.