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Voters have the choice between Republican Stacy Garrity and incumbent Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro when they cast their ballots for governor.
Garrity is an Iraq War veteran and former vice president of government affairs at Global Tungsten & Powders in Towanda. Garrity was elected treasurer in 2020, becoming the first Republican to defeat an incumbent Democrat in a race for statewide office since 1994. Garrity was then re-elected in 2024, breaking the record for most votes in a statewide campaign. Garrity has been critical of the effect of inflation on Pennsylvania’s economy, tax burden, a state budget that has reached $50.8 billion and use of the state’s Rainy Day Fund to balance the budget while favoring a data center pause to allow local governments to update their zoning codes.
She is an interesting candidate who has done well as the state's treasurer. At the same time, we're not convinced she is ready for the governor's mansion.
Shapiro has shown himself willing to compromise. He pulled out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. That's noteworthy. He's the first governor to make such a decision, and the decision came knowing participation in RGGI was an absolute non-started with Republicans in the state Legislature and with knowledge that RGGI participation has helped drive up power costs for consumers in neighboring states. Shapiro broke with many Democrats during the COVID-19 pandemic by opposing mask and vaccine mandates in favor of public education.
Shapiro quickly reopened Interstate 95 after a tanker truck fire caused a major overpass to collapse. Shapiro declared a disaster declaration and coordinated a private effort that reopened the highway in 12 days. By and large Shapiro is a centrist Democrat who isn’t as beholden to the far left as many of his fellow Democratic Party backed governors. At the same time, we won't sit here and say we agree with everything Shapiro has done as governor. His executive budget proposals increase state spending too much, in our opinion, and we'd like to see him do more to rein in the state Game Commission's land acquisition policies in rural counties where such acquisitions have begun to squeeze the tax base that helps pay for local services. And, while Shapiro has been willing to compromise, he hasn't shown the ability to twist arms to head off legislative stalemates on issues like skill game licensing and second-degree murder charges.
Neither candidate for governor is perfect, but we think Shapiro is a governor both Republicans and Democrats can live with for the next four years.