State treasurer Stacy Garrity speaks at the Pennsylvania Republican Party’s fall meeting after accepting their endorsement in the race for governor. (Carmen Russell-Sluchansky/WHYY)
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The Pennsylvania Republican Party on Saturday endorsed state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in the 2026 governor’s race, potentially bypassing a primary contest that party leaders hope to avoid.
Garrity, a retired Army Reserve colonel and former business executive, has quietly courted key county chairs for months, a strategy that worked in positioning her as the de facto Republican nominee.
“I am deeply honored to accept your endorsement to serve as the next governor of Pennsylvania,” Garrity told committee members. “I may have grown up in a small town, but everyone I knew had the biggest heart. And I learned the values we all cherish — love of God, love of family and love of community — all in that order.”
In her speech, Garrity drew a sharp contrast between her and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who appears likely to run for reelection in 2026. She painted Shapiro as fiscally irresponsible and criticized his ambition.
“There is no more dangerous place in Harrisburg than standing between Josh Shapiro and a camera or a liberal donor handing him a check,” she said. “I am not running for governor as a stepping stone to something bigger. I’m running for governor of Pennsylvania to serve you. I know what it means to serve. I know what it means to sacrifice and I know what it means to solve the tough problems impacting the lives of Pennsylvania families.”
The endorsement was a near-unanimous vote by members at the party’s annual fall meeting Saturday. Supporters cited her experience and her unprecedented upset win for state treasurer in 2022 for their endorsement.
“Even amongst Republicans, it’s hard to get everybody to agree, but we had about 99% of the people in this room who think Stacy’s the right choice,” said Guy Ciarrocchi, a member of the party leadership committee who lives in Chester County. “Stacy’s candidacy has shown she can bring people together. That’s what Pennsylvania needs, because government is broken.”
Vince Fenerty, chair of the Philadelphia Republican City Committee, said Garrity’s military background and track record as treasurer make her a strong candidate.
“Stacy’s a straight-line shooter and will do a good job for Pennsylvania,” he said.
Committee Vice Chair Chris Vogler said the fact that Garrity won more votes in her reelection campaign last year than any other candidate for statewide office in the commonwealth’s history gives him confidence in her candidature.
“She has always been outspent but never outworked, and she’s shown through her past campaigns that when she gets her ideas out there and her work ethic, she’s proven effective as a candidate, effective as a state treasurer and we hope effective as our next governor,” he said.
Patricia Poprik, who chairs the Bucks County Republican Committee, called Garrity a “worker bee” and said she admired her business and military experience.
“She is unbelievable,” Poprick said. “I met her years ago when she first came on the scene and I was so impressed with her energy and her intelligence. She’s a smart lady.”
The endorsement reflects the earliest institutional support for a gubernatorial candidate since 2010. The last time the state party made such an endorsement was for Tom Corbett, who won the general election but served only one term.
State party leaders looking to avoid a primary fight may be disappointed if state Sen. Doug Mastriano enters the race. Mastriano, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022, accused state party leadership of “coronating” their preferred candidate rather than allowing Republican voters to choose.
Mastriano did not return a request for an interview or comment but he has made his opinions known on social media, and in interviews on talk radio. In a July appearance on a conservative talk show, he accused “the establishment” of trying to stop him.
“We criticize the Democrats for what they did with Harris, elevating her without a fair and honest primary, but are we any different in Pennsylvania?” he said on the same talk show this month.
In a more recent episode, he told host John Fredericks that his decision to enter the race was “not going to be driven by the state party” and later told 107.3 News Talk that the party endorsement was an “irrelevant factor.” Mastriano has also repeatedly said that he would win a primary, a claim that may be supported by earlier polling that showed him leading Garrity by 21 percentage points among Republicans in the commonwealth.
Party leaders said that the early endorsement gives the only Republican hopeful officially in the race more time to campaign. They rejected the idea that the move was meant to sideline Mastriano. Many pointed to the early endorsement for David McCormick in last year’s race for U.S. Senate.
“We’re really not sure if Sen. Mastriano gets in the race,” Val Biancaniello, a Delaware County state committeewoman, said, adding that she hopes Mastriano gets in line. “He and Stacy are friends. Let’s hope he unifies behind Stacy.”
Peter Quaglia, a delegate from Wayne County, told reporters at the meeting that Garrity’s record makes it clear she is “the only one who can beat Josh Shapiro.”
“Stacy Garrity is the largest vote-getter in Pennsylvania history. She’s gotten more votes than Donald Trump both in 2020 and 2024,” he said. “This is a gift to the Republican Party. I’m normally against endorsements, but this was a special case.”
For her part, Garrity is campaigning as if it’s the general election, attacking the incumbent governor in her launch video. She told WHYY News that she believes Mastriano “does a great job for people in his districts.”
“But I’m running against Josh Shapiro because he has failed Pennsylvanians,” she said. “We don’t even have a budget.”
Garrity has been presenting herself as a fiscal conservative and rational ally of President Trump. Trump had previously said he would endorse U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser if Meuser decided to run, but he has since dropped out of the race.
Garrity appears to expect his endorsement in the future.
“I was so honored to campaign with President Trump in 2024, he and I led the ticket, and so I will be honored to get his endorsement,” she said. “And between now and when I get it, I will be working in all four quarters of the great commonwealth to get the endorsement of every voter in Pennsylvania.”
Democrats have criticized Garrity for her connection to Trump and her support for Republican policies they say will gut healthcare and hurt the economy.
Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Eugene DePasquale said in a statement that “Garrity has a long track record of views and positions that are wrong for Pennsylvania.”
“Garrity has embraced and celebrated a federal bill that will eliminate health care for 310,000 Pennsylvanians and raise costs for so many more, could cause at least 25 rural hospitals to close, and will kill more than 20,000 energy jobs – all to give tax breaks to billionaires,” he said. “She has long fought for an extreme anti-choice agenda – celebrating the fall of Roe v. Wade and even selling anti-abortion merchandise.”
Those critiques did not appear to faze the audience in State College on Saturday. Vogler called arguments about abortion “deflection” and “a scare tactic.”
“Abortion has to go through the Legislature and is not going to be outlawed in Pennsylvania,” he said. “Let’s be honest: no matter what someone’s position is pro or con on that, it’s not going to happen. They don’t want to talk about what the real issues of what’s happening in Pennsylvania and the failures of this governor.”
However, Republican legislators have introduced legislation to restrict abortion in the state. Anti-abortion activists are campaigning against three Democrats on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, where the issue may be finally decided.
DePasquale also referenced her participation in a rally challenging the results of the 2020 election, though she has since declared that Joe Biden won that election.