Mastriano makes campaign stop in Clinton County

BEECH CREEK, PA – Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano made a stop in Beech Creek Wednesday evening, part of a campaign swing through north-central Pennsylvania. And the audience, which filled about half of the spacious Wesleyan Church, liked what they heard.

Mastriano was accompanied by his wife Rebbe and between them, they spoke for some 45 minutes. He said he had drawn larger crowds in his north-central stops than his November opponent, Josh Shapiro, the current state attorney general. He made a point to thank Clinton County Republicans, who hosted the event, for voter support in the May primary as Mastriano was the top vote-getter in the county in a field of eight primary candidates.

Mastriano noted the massive financial war-chest that Shapiro has accumulated and said the Nov. 8 contest is between “David and Goliath.” Most recent polling has shown that Shapiro has a lead over Mastriano, the current state senator from Franklin County. He said Shapiro is soft on crime, on the issues of crime in Philadelphia and sex-trafficking.

Mastriano offered a list of items for his “day one” as governor. They included: no boys in girls’ bathrooms; no boys on girls’ sports teams; and no pronoun games with gender. He said Pennsylvania would no longer be a “sanctuary state” and pledged to take illegals in the state to Delaware, the home state of President Biden. He also pledged to make Pennsylvania “the Florida of the north.”

The most enthusiastic audience response came as Mastriano’s wife was speaking when her talk was interrupted. The voice of former President Donald Trump was heard over the phone; he called Mastriano “a very special man” and said, “I’m with him all the way.”

Mrs. Mastriano offered a number of “women’s rights.” These included the right to be born and the right to have a say in her child’s education.”