2 Republicans exit PA gubernatorial race. Here's who is still in running for nomination

Nine Republican names will appear on the primary ballot Tuesday in the race for Pennsylvania governor, but two of those candidates have now exited the race and thrown their support behind one of the frontrunners.

Melissa Hart, a former member of Congress and the Pennsylvania Senate, on Friday followed state Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman in leaving the race to endorse former Congressman Lou Barletta in a last-ditch effort to coalesce around a candidate who some Republican leaders believe has a better chance of winning a general election matchup against Democrat Josh Shapiro than current GOP frontrunner, state Sen. Doug Mastriano.

“The stakes are too high, our Republican primary is too fractured, and we need someone to come out of the Republican primary who is a proven leader, who is a uniter, who is someone who can get Democrat votes, and who can lead as a person who has a vision and the values that the people of Pennsylvania support,” Hart said.

Hart and Corman could be joined by other gubernatorial candidates as the clock counts down to Tuesday's primary, but their names will remain on the ballot nonetheless.

More:Jake Corman drops out of PA governor race, endorses Lou Barletta to stop Mastriano

So, who's still in the race?

As of noon Friday, the candidates who plan to stay in nominating contest include:

Doug Mastriano

Mastriano, a far-right conservative candidate who's floated baseless election fraud conspiracies about the 2020 presidential election and who has said that he would have appointed his own electors to the Electoral College if he had been governor to overthrow President Joe Biden's victory over former President Donald Trump. Mastriano is a retired U.S. Army colonel. Top Republican leaders in the state point to internal polls that show Mastriano losing to Shapiro, the current state attorney general, in the fall, even though a Republican comes out on top in a generic matchup between parties.

More:Doug Mastriano could ride 2020 election denial into the PA governor's mansion

Lou Barletta

Barletta, a former congressman who ran unsuccessfully in 2018 for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. Barletta, the former mayor of Hazleton, believes his 2018 loss was due to a "blue wave" and that he stands a better chance against Shapiro in the midterm election than he did four years ago.

More:PA should be more like Saudi Arabia on energy, says Lou Barletta, GOP governor candidate

Dave White

White, a Delaware County businessman who on Friday vowed to remain in the race. White, who founded a successful HVAC company in southeastern PA, has invested $4 million of his own money into his candidacy. He polls in either third or fourth place in recent surveys. White on Friday tweeted that efforts to rally behind Barletta meet the "definition of insanity"... "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We nominated Lou in 2018. I even worked the polls for him. But he lost by 650,000 votes then and he'd lose to Josh Shapiro now."

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Bill McSwain

McSwain, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, has received heavy financial support from a political action committee funded primarily by billionaire Jeffrey Yass. McSwain touts the fact that he is the only candidate to be a part of the Trump administration, despite the fact Trump has told voters to cast their ballot for any candidate but McSwain. Trump's anti-endorsement is a result of McSwain not pursuing the unfounded election fraud claims that Trump and other followers have circulated. McSwain has called himself the outsider candidate because he's never run for political office. McSwain is a former first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

More:Bill McSwain still touts Trump connection even though the ex-president trashed him

Joe Gale

Gale, the only Republican on the Montgomery Board of County Commissioners, is in his second term. Gale was the youngest ever elected to the board at age 26. Gale, too, has billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate who could win over independents in a general election.

More:Election 2022: Your guide to the primary election for Pennsylvania governor

Charlie Gerow

Gerow is vice president of the Conservative Political Action Conference and the event's host, the American Conservative Union. Gerow, who is CEO of Quantum Communications, is conservative media voice on both television and radio.

More:GOP candidate Gerow may be a political outsider, but 'knows what's going on inside'

Nche Zama

Zama, a cardiothoracic surgeon who came to the United States from his native country of Cameroon on a student visa. Zama trained at the Cleveland Clinic and Harvard University and holds a Ph.D in chemistry. Zama has called himself "an ardent supporter of educational, technological, business and health care excellence" during his gubernatorial bid.

More:Zama: Fueled by 'the pursuit of excellence'

More: Election 2022: Your guide to the primary election for Pennsylvania governor

The winner of the Republican nomination will face the Democrat's presumptive nominee Shapiro, who is the only candidate running for his party's nomination.

Incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, is term-limited.

The primary is Tuesday, May 17. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Contact Matthew Rink at mrink@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNrink.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Melissa Hart governor primary run ends; seven GOP candidates remain