Restaurant groups and food vendors are facing growing calls to boycott Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls after a set of reports outed multiple members of the Martin family as supporters of Doug Mastriano, the Pennsylvania Republican running for governor.
It was reported in April that James Martin, the executive chairman and former president of Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe, donated $110,000 to Mastriano’s gubernatorial campaign in 2021. In May, the executive’s wife, Donna, who helps run the Pennsylvania-based company, and daughter Julie, who does social media for the family-owned business, were also revealed to have contributed. Campaign finance records then revealed that James Martin has been a financial backer of Mastriano going back to at least 2020.
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Mastriano is a steadfast supporter of former President Donald Trump. He backs the former president’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread fraud. The first-term state senator played a leading role in efforts to overturn the election results, helping to commission an unauthorized audit of voting machines in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He has also been open about his attendance at a QAnon-linked event in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the Washington, D.C., rally that took place before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
The GOP gubernatorial nominee has vowed to appoint a secretary of state who would require every resident of the state to re-register to vote, a campaign promise with dubious legal grounds, and has argued that the GOP-controlled legislature should have the ability to decide which presidential electors to send to Congress.
Martin’s Famous Pastry Shoppe has rejected media requests for comment on the matter, though the company tweeted on the day of the Pennsylvania primary: “Just like our country as a whole, Martin’s company is made up of a diverse group of employees and stockholders, all of whom are free to support and vote for whomever they choose. Martin’s as a company does not donate to any particular political candidate or party, but we encourage and celebrate the opportunity we all have to vote and share in the election process.”
Still, outraged customers have continued their calls on social media for major food restaurants and vendors to cut ties with Martin’s. Shake Shack, the largest buyer of Martin’s potato rolls, has faced the lion’s share of online pressure to comment on the matter.
The famous burger chain notes on its website that it has a 100% score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a report that tracks how companies treat the LGBT community. Company representatives said in a statement that it continues “to be in active conversations with Martin’s to express our concern,” but it added: “In regards to the actions of individuals associated with the Martin’s company and their personal political donations — those are the choices of those individuals and do not express the values of Shake Shack.”
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Mastriano will face Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, in the November general election. For his part, Shapiro said he rejects the idea of Martin’s being canceled over the family’s political donations, noting, “Personally, I think Martin’s makes a damn good potato roll, and I’m not for boycotting a Pennsylvania business that supports hundreds of Pennsylvania jobs.”
He added: “The Martin family runs a private company and has the right to support and employ whomever they want, and I believe that every company should make whatever decisions they feel are best for them and their customers.”
