Credit: Amanda Berg/Spotlight PA
Republican State Sen. Doug Mastriano on Sunday conceded the election to Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
There were questions as to whether the state senator would concede after he had been largely silent after his Democratic challenger beat him. In 2020, Mastriano was upset about then-President Donald Trump’s loss and enabled efforts to attempt to overturn the election.
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Shapiro earned 56.1 percent of the vote, while Mastriano gained 42.1 percent, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State.
“The results of the 2022 midterm elections are not what we hoped, prayed and fought so hard for, and yet there is so much for which I am grateful,” Mastriano said in the letter he posted on Facebook and Twitter. “We gave this race everything we had to give.”
Mastriano said it was “difficult to accept” the results, but “there is no right course but to concede, which I do, and I look to the challenges ahead. Josh Shapiro will be our next governor, and I ask everyone to give him the opportunity to lead and pray that he leads well.”
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Mastriano stated the vote counting from the election are still not entirely complete and the state “is in great need of election reform.”
“In my role as a state senator, I will do my very best to help Josh Shapiro deliver that to Pennsylvania and, if he does, I will be the first to acknowledge and applaud his achievement,” he wrote.
The letter from Mastriano acknowledged his campaign was “massively outspent” by Shapiro.
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Mastriano praised his wife Rebbie, campaign staff, and volunteers for their efforts.
“I’m indebted to my team, which gave everything they had and asked what more it could give,” he said. “I own them more than I can ever repay.”
Mastriano had kind words for his running mate, State Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso, who later shared an article on the concession letter.
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“I could not have asked for a better running mate and I wish her well in what, no doubt, will be a bright future,” he said.
Mastriano spent the days after his election resharing posts by supporters about his loss.
“Pennsylvania needed them but didn’t deserve them,” said one that was posted with a photo of Mastriano.
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In reply to a post Shapiro made in honor of Veterans Day, Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army officer, replied that the governor-elect had “distain for this veterans service.” The posts were an apparent reference to Shapiro’s tough criticism of Mastriano, who faced push back by Democrats and Republicans due to ties to conspiracy groups, a social media site that is a frequent home of antisemtic content, his time spent on the U.S. Capitol grounds during the January 6, 2021 attack, and attempting to overturn the 2020 election in favor of Trump.
Last Wednesday, Shapiro thanked supporters for his win.
“Though our politics are frayed and divided, we showed that we are strong enough to withstand this winter of darkness. That we can repair our politics and chart a path to a brighter tomorrow,” he wrote.
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“We proved that democracy can defeat darkness. That equality will conquer extremism. That hope is stronger than fear,” he added.
When asked Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union” on whether he was waiting for Mastriano to concede, Shapiro responded: “I mean, who cares if he calls, right? He doesn’t get to pick the winner. The people pick the winner.”
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