With 11 days before the midterm elections, Governor Josh Shapiro and challenger Stacy Garrity were each profiled today.
Governor Josh Shapiro
From The Inquirer’s story on Shapiro, which included an in-person interview:
He’s had some major wins, too. State lawmakers have approved $3 billion in funding increases and created a new funding system for public education, after a state appellate court ruled that Pennsylvania’s previous system was unconstitutional. He has celebrated increases to the state’s property tax and rent rebate programs for seniors, a new state tax credit for working families, and a pension bump for retired teachers, police officers and firefighters. He boasts significant reductions in wait times for business licenses and environmental permits and continued cuts to the state’s corporate net income tax, as part of his cut-red-tape approach.
Earlier this month, Shapiro created a federal political action committee called New Path PAC, which CNN dubbed “the latest sign the Democrat may want to run for president in 2028.”. The Inquirer said the governor “smoothly side-steps the question of whether he’ll promise to fulfill another four-year term if reelected”.
From The Inquirer’s story:
Instead, he boasts his administration’s “get stuff done” motto, citing some of his proudest accomplishments as the leader of Pennsylvania, such as reopening I-95 in 12 days, speeding up the state’s process to get licenses or permits to do work, utility rate caps, and new pathways to careers in the trades.
“The only thing I am focused on is running for reelection as governor, and I’m focused on these midterms in trying to generate the kind of turnout and support the kind of candidates who will push back on the chaos, the cruelty, and the corruption of Donald Trump,” he told the moderators at a debate earlier this month.
Shapiro’s job approval was at 63% in a Quinnipiac University poll released October 7, and his campaign has raised more than $42.3 million in ad buys, according to media tracker AdImpact.
On Wednesday, FOX29 profiled the governor and provided a briefing of his public debate with Garrity on October 7. From their coverage:
Looking ahead, Shapiro says he would use a second term to keep increasing education funding, raise the minimum wage, and write abortion rights into state law. He is also pushing a 52% tax on skill game machines, which his administration estimates would bring in $2 billion a year.
Garrity sees that record differently, and she made her case directly to Shapiro at the campaign’s only debate. She accused him of repeatedly signing budgets that drew down the state’s surplus, and of shifting his position on school vouchers. She also faulted him for never delivering the $250 gas rebate he had promised.
State Treasurer Garrity
State Treasurer Garrity was featured by WHYY today in an article titled “What happened to the GOP’s high hopes for Pa. governor candidate Stacy Garrity?”
As Garrity trails Shapiro by more than 20 points in the most recent polls, Chris Borick, professor of political science and director of the Lehigh Opinion Observatory, said her campaign’s gradual decline is due to “a perfect storm of factors”.
“This is a really, really challenging environment for any Republican to run in … and she matched up with a well-funded, disciplined incumbent with a history of electoral success in Pennsylvania that is in the party that’s riding the wave and not fighting the wave,” he told WHYY.
Compounding the challenges, Garrity has reportedly raised $5.3 million to Shapiro’s estimated $55 million.
“Borick said that fundraising disadvantage has hindered Garrity from getting her message to voters while the Shapiro campaign has been able to blanket the airwaves with ads”, WHYY wrote.
You can also read NBC News’ coverage of an AI-generated ad by Garrity’s campaign. According to their story, the ad uses an “AI-generated likeness of Governor Josh Shapiro and makes references to a sexual harassment complaint that was made against an aide to the governor, not Shapiro himself.”
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