It was not difficult to see that many Democrats wanted Donald Trump to win the 2016 Republican Presidential Primary. Trump, according to some reports, would prove to be an absolute disaster in the general election and make Hillary Clinton’s unavoidable ascent into the presidency more likely.
Dara Lind wrote, “Trump’s unpopularity, his unpredictable nature, and the way politics are run make him an atrocious general election electorate.” VoxThis is the summary of some Democratic voters and activists’ sentiments in March 2016.
Lind wisely said, “Be careful what you wish to see.” People had to deal with Trump’s possibility of winning the nomination. But, it is also important that they accept this reality: Trump has a chance of winning the presidency.
Six years later, Democrats seem to have redoubled their efforts on the same questionable strategy in order to nominate Trump’s supporter for Pennsylvania governor. State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R–Fayetteville) participated in the January 6 protest in Washington D.C.—though he alleged he left prior to the violent riot, photos from the scene show Mastriano beyond police barricades (no evidence has emerged showing that he entered the building itself). Mastriano refusing to accept Pennsylvania’s 2020 election results has caused concern. he would refuse to certify a prospective Democratic winIn 2024, if he win this year’s elections. The secretary of state is a job that the governor appoints to oversee elections in Pennsylvania.
Mastriano won Tuesday’s three-way race for the Republican nomination to be the Republican governor. This brought him closer to his goal of becoming the governor. Mastriano did it with support from his Democratic opponent in general elections.
Although Josh Shapiro, Attorney General of Pennsylvania was unopposed to the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania’s primary season, his campaign ran several advertisements. One of those ads, which hit the airwaves earlier this month, was effectively an ad for Mastriano—it called the state senator “one of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters” and focused on hot-button issues for conservative voters, including Mastriano’s stance on abortion, which he wants to ban, and his leading role in the GOP’s attempt to reverse President Joe Biden’s win in 2020.
It was a clever attack ad that Mastriano made, but it also served to elevate Mastriano’s standing among Pennsylvania conservatives.
Mark Harris wrote that Shapiro was going on-air to assist Mastriano in winning the GOP primary. Harris is a Republican political consultant who worked for a different primary campaign. wroteThis was earlier in the month on Twitter. It tells you everything you need. Dems recognize that Mastriano offers the greatest chance for winning.
Mastriano’s grassroots campaign failed to generate enough funds to promote across Pennsylvania. Mastriano’s campaign ended the first quarter with $1 million left, while Shapiro had a $16 mil war chest. It would be a good idea to use the money to aid an undelectable Republican in winning the nomination. You can’t go wrong.
According to Mastriano, “I’m going have to send him an appreciation card.” LNP’Brad Bumsted.
Mastriano’s message was promoted by Shapiro while some Pennsylvania Republicans were being addressed by Shapiro working to stop Trump’s preferred candidateYou are not winning. In the two previous weeks, several candidates who were once U.S. senators endorsed Lou Barletta. This was a Trump ally and former congressman, and is considered a less radical alternative to Mastriano. Think of it as another parallel to 2016, when there was a last-ditch attempt to stop Trump by trying to convince mainstream Republicans to hold their noses and vote for Sen. Ted Cruz (R–Texas).
Similar to 2016, this effort also failed. Barletta was a distant second to Mastriano.
Shapiro’s campaign completed phase 2 of its plan as soon Mastriano secured the Republican nomination Tuesday night. In a statementShapiro attacked Mastriano, calling him a dangerous extremist who wants to restrict voting rights and propagate conspiracy theories. In the coming five months, expect to hear more about this.
Mastriano’s election to the GOP top ticket could be what Pennsylvania Democrats need in order to avoid a catastrophic election cycle. This could allow 2020 electoral-deniers to ride on a Republican national wave into the highest office in Pennsylvania. Trump lost Pennsylvania by a scant 80,000 votes in 2020—no one should be confident that Mastriano’s chances are nil.
Mastriano’s opinion on 2020 elections should not be considered disqualifying by voters. However, Democrats such as Shapiro should be viewed as the defenders and supporters of democracy who oppose Republican attempts to undermine election results.
It makes it harder to accept their assertions about Trump-endorsed Republicans as a unique threat. Worse, they could be assisting in the emergence of the same national crisis that Trump-endorsed Republicans claim to want to stop.