Democrat Josh Shapiro boasts Republican Jewish support in close race for Pennsylvania governor
10 former and current Republican state officials called Doug Mastriano, the GOP nominee for governor, ‘extreme’ and ‘dangerous’
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro at a Stand Against Hate rally at Independence Mall on March 2, 2017. Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh July 7, 2022
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Jewish attorney general and a Democrat, announced Wednesday that he had been endorsed by 10 prominent Republicans, demonstrating crossover appeal to his bid to become the state’s governor in the fall.
The former and current Republican state officials called Doug Mastriano, the GOP nominee for governor, “extreme” and “dangerous.” Mastriano, a far-right state representative, has compared the Jan. 6 riot to the 1933 Reichstag fire and gun control to Nazi policies, and hired as a campaign aide Jenna Ellis, a Trump attorney who has compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust.
The group that broke away to endorse Shapiro in the competitive race includes Sandra Schultz Newman, a former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice who came under fire in the 2008 presidential election for signing an email to Jewish voters that likened a vote for Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, to ignoring warning signals that led up to the Holocaust. Newman, who is Jewish, apologized and blamed the language on a Republican consultant.
Also on the list of endorsers is Lita Indzel Cohen, a former member of Pennsylvania’s state house, who claimed in 1998 to be the only Jewish Republican official in the legislature.
“I think it’s important to note that these prominent officials represent all corners of our Commonwealth,” Shapiro said in an interview on MSNBC. “They’ve all come together largely for two reasons. Number one, they fear the dangerous extremism of my opponent. And number two, they know I’m a guy with a long track record of bringing people together to actually get things done, which is what people want now more than ever.”
The FiveThirtyEight forecast model ranked the race as “leaning Democrat.” A recent poll showed Shapiro leading by Mastriano by 4 points, with 13% undecided.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
