GOP Leaders Endorse Democrat for Pennsylvania Gov. After Republican Candidate Seen Wearing Confederate Uniform
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Natalie Kolb/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty; Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Josh Shapiro (left), Doug Mastriano
Several Republicans in Pennsylvania are throwing their support behind a Democratic candidate for governor after photos surfaced of far-right GOP nominee Doug Mastriano wearing a Confederate military uniform.
At least 16 Republican leaders have announced their endorsement for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, days after Reuters reported that Mastriano posed for a photo wearing a Confederate uniform in 2014, while he was an instructor at the US Army War College.
According to Reuters, Mastriano posed alongside 20 other faculty members, six of whom were also dressed in historical garb. Reuters added that the Army War College took down the photo when reached for comment, saying it "does not meet AWC values."
Doug Mastriano wore the uniform of traitors who fought to defend slavery on official grounds of the U.S. Army War College.
The College condemned him, saying this “does not reflect our values.”
It's deeply offensive and proves who he is, once again. He's unfit to be Governor.— Josh Shapiro (@JoshShapiroPA) August 26, 2022
In the wake of the news, many Republican leaders are crossing the political aisle to throw their support behind Shapiro, Mastriano's rival.
Insider reports that the Shapiro campaign announced the latest endorsements on Tuesday. The group includes former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, who served under President George W. Bush.
Mastriano — a state senator — is no stranger to controversy, having supported the effort to overturn the 2020 election as well as Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud to support it. He was also present for the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, though he claims he didn't enter the building. Trump endorsed him days before the primary.
The QAnon follower also came under fire for his association with the hate-filled social media platform Gab, a safe haven for white supremacists, antisemites and other extremists, many of whom have been kicked off mainstream social media sites.
A state campaign filing revealed that Mastriano's team paid $5,000 to Gab for "campaign consulting" in April, which Gab founder Andrew Torba now calls an advertising buy.
Torba argues that his site is merely a free speech platform, though many of its feeds are dominated by vitriol. Gab was the preferred social media platform of Robert Bowers, the alleged shooter who entered a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and shot 17 congregants, killing 11, in 2018.
Shapiro, who is Pennsylvania's attorney general, told MSNBC of the Mastriano's affiliation with the site: "This is who Doug Mastriano is. He is so dangerous."
Shapiro continued: "This Gab site is a haven for white supremacy and yet this is where Doug Mastriano believes he needs to go for support. This is not normal."
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Speaking about the controversy on Fox's One Nation with Brian Kilmeade in July, Mastriano — who won Pennsylvania's Republican primary election for governor in May — said: "There's nothing extreme about me."
"Imagine this … 30 years in the Army, promoted from 2nd lieutenant to colonel, constantly being vetted," he continued. "I had a top secret clearance for 30 years, constantly being investigated. If there's anything extreme about me, obviously our nation would not allow me to have access to some of its most sensitive secrets here."
Mastriano's campaign has since deleted his Gab posts.
