Republican Doug Mastriano, who lost the Pennsylvania governor's race last year by double digits, told Politico in an interview published on Tuesday that he is considering running for U.S. Senate next year.
He said he is "praying" about whether to go forward with a potential candidacy in 2024 against Democrat Sen. Bob Casey, stating that after God, his wife, Rebbie, will have the final word.
He admitted that taking on Casey, an institutional figure in Pennsylvania, could be a challenge, saying, "How do I beat the Casey name? 'Mastriano?' At least they know who I am now."
Mastriano insisted that Casey is a letdown to the anti-abortion cause, especially compared to his father, former Gov. Robert Casey Sr., who signed abortion regulations into law that went all the way to the Supreme Court, where they were mostly kept intact.
"I think he's a huge disappointment," Mastriano told Politico. "He's nothing like his dad. His dad was more pro-life than most Republicans."
Mastriano, who is currently a member of the Pennsylvania state Senate, is taking steps to position himself for a possible run, including holding a rally this Saturday. He also led a hearing on Ohio's East Palestine train derailment over the border from the incident in western Pennsylvania, successfully pushed a committee he chairs to subpoena Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to testify, and hired Dan Cox, the unsuccessful Maryland gubernatorial nominee, as his chief of staff, Politico reported.
However, almost no one in the Pennsylvania GOP establishment is eager for the matchup. When a blue wave swept across the state last year — Democrats won the gubernatorial race, Senate race, and a majority of state House contests — most Republican officials blamed Mastriano.
They said his staunchly anti-abortion stance that permitted no exceptions, his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Pennsylvania, and his appearance at the U.S. Capitol the day of the Jan. 6 attack pushed away many swing voters.
Mastriano, who says he hopes to transform the Republican Party, admitted that those encouraging him to run for the Senate are not GOP dignitaries, saying "it's mostly supporters across the state. Nobody with big names have come out and said, Doug, you need to think about this. Just people like you and me."
Mastriano is also considering what went wrong in his campaign last year and is even willing to buck tactics that his party has shunned.
He said that Republicans "have to embrace no-excuse mail-in voting," telling Politico that the fact that they did not is the reason he lost.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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