Pennsylvania senator who sought 2020 ‘forensic’ audit announces candidacy for governor

“This is your one opportunity to take your government back in Harrisburg,” Mastriano said in his speech, slamming Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. “I stand before you as somebody who has fought the good fight for freedom, in uniform and out.”

“Many of you know my story. I never aspired to run for office,” Mastriano said. “I’m not a politician. I’m an elected official. I’m a servant of the republic, not democracy.”

Mastriano touched on three points that he wants to emphasize with his campaign for governor: “restore freedom, rebuild families, and revive the economy.”

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Mastriano, a retired Army colonel, was elected in a special election to the state’s Senate 33rd District in May 2019. He retired from the Army in November 2017 after 30 years of active-duty service.

In late December of last year, he reached his fundraising goal for his campaign as a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, WTAE reported.

But the Pennsylvania Republican signaled gubernatorial aspirations before then, saying on May 19 that he had met with Trump a few days before and had been asked to run for governor.

“He had asked me to run some months ago,” Mastriano said during an interview with WEEO-FM. “He said, ‘Doug, run and I’ll campaign for you.'”

As chairman of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee, Mastriano requested “information and materials” on July 7 from Tioga, Philadelphia, and York counties to conduct a “forensic investigation” of the 2020 election results. In doing so, he was fulfilling the wishes of Trump and several of his allies who openly called for “forensic” audits to be conducted in key battleground states.

The counties were given a July 31 deadline in which to comply, and they were threatened with subpoenas for failing to comply.

This request was met with sharp criticism from Democrats in Pennsylvania, including Wolf, acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid, and Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Degraffenreid issued a directive warning counties against giving “third-party entities” access to voting equipment, saying she would then decertify the machines as they would be “considered no longer secure or reliable to use in subsequent elections.”

With resistance popping up in the counties Mastriano hoped to examine, Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman announced on Aug. 20 that he would have another senator lead the review of the 2020 election results, citing “many frustrations” with Mastriano’s effort.

“It is deeply disappointing that Sen. Mastriano has retreated from conducting a forensic investigation of the election in Pennsylvania, and it is discouraging to realize that he was only ever interested in politics and showmanship and not actually getting things done,” Corman said in a statement.

Around that time, Mastriano conceded the cause for investigation had “been weakened and diminished,” the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported. The state senator has also accused GOP leadership of “stonewalling” his pursuit of an election review.

Mastriano is set to face at least 13 challengers in the GOP primary for governor in mid-May. Opponents include Corman; Guy Ciarrocchi, the former head of the Chester County Chamber of Commerce; Joel Gale, a commissioner from Montgomery County; Bill Swain, a former Philadelphia attorney; Melissa Hart, a former Allegheny County representative; and Jason Monn, the owner of a restaurant and the former mayor of the city of Corry, located in Erie County, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Lou Barletta, a former congressman and mayor of Hazelton, has also announced that he is running for governor of Pennsylvania.

On the Democratic side, Shapiro, the attorney general, has announced a bid for governor.