Mastriana is predicted to win the Republican gubernatorial election The state

A Republican senator from central Pennsylvania, who circulated baseless allegations of election fraud, appeared on the road to victory as Republican governor on Tuesday night, creating an autumn general election campaign rich in stark contrasts.

Unofficial information revealed that Senator Doug Mastrian, R-Franklin, who came on election day along with support for former President Donald Trump, leading in a crowded field with 42 percent of the vote. The Associated Press announced the race for Mastrian shortly before 10pm on Tuesday.

Former U.S. MP Lou Barlett of Hazelton took second place with 23.01 percent of the vote, unofficial results show. Former Federal Attorney Bill McSwayne, appointed by Trump, took third place with 15.1 percent, and former Delaware County Council member David White took fourth place with 7.85 percent of the vote.

Undercard, consisting of Pennsylvania Senate President Protempor Jake Corman, R-Center; former U.S. representative Melissa Hart of Allegheny County; Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, Republican consultant Charlie Gerow and Dr. Pacanos Nche Zama have completed the Republican Party’s main field.

Mastrian will face Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who competed without opposition in intra-party contests on Tuesday. Shapiro, a former Montgomery County commissioner and state legislator, was sent to the bench on election day after announcing he had received a positive test for COVID-19.

PRIME LIVE: Pennsylvania 2022 Primary Election Day

Tuesday’s outcome ended a bizarre and chaotic primary campaign in which the Republican establishment spent 11 hours trying to stop Mastroian, who was passionate about Trump’s base because they thought it was too extreme to win a nationwide election in the fall. .

Corman and Hart both suspended their campaigns in the final week of the race, backing Barletta.

In the end it was too little, too late. Both were interviewed at the back of the primary package, rendering their removal virtually symbolic gestures.

The 58-year-old Mastriana, a retired U.S. Army colonel, became famous in the state in 2020, leading protests against Democratic Party Governor Tom Wolf’s anti-pandemic policy. In the days following the November 2020 election, he openly questioned the legitimacy of the result.

He is bus fans before the Trump rally on January 6, 2021, which preceded the attack on the US Capitol, where pro-Trump extremists tried to disrupt the certification of election results. Mastriana was photographed in the Capitol and refused to enter the building, although in the videos he was closer to the building than he claimed. He is has since been summoned to court Congressional Committee to Investigate the Uprising.

Passionately conservative, Mastriana supports school choices and gun rights. He opposes the right to abortion by sponsoring a bill that bans the procedure for six weeks, even before most people find out they are pregnant. He also said he would not support exceptions for rape, incest or the health of a pregnant person.

Mastriana hit the headlines in the final days of the race after campaigning for the event’s promotion conspiracy theory QAnon. He is an icon of Christian nationalists, but said it is not identify yourself as a Christian nationalist.

“Did you invent the term? What does this mean and where did I point out that I am a Christian nationalist? ” He said last year to the New Yorker.

At a press conference last week, Barlett said he planned to support those running as a Republican candidate, saying a victory over Shapiro in November should be the ultimate goal.

Speaking on Tuesday, Philadelphia radio host Chris Stigal Trump said he supported Barletta due to its double-digit loss to U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, Pennsylvania, in 2018.

“I know Lou, I like Lou. The problem is that the last time he ran was very bad. He was a little lacking in action. It was not falsified or stolen, he just did not run a good race, and he was beaten quite badly, ”he said.

Trump praised Mastrian, saying he had “a very large base” and adding that he was “very loyal to the fairness of the election.”

“When I hear Shapiro say he wants to run against Mastrian, it’s just misinformation. The last person he is [Shapiro] he wants to fight Mastrian, ”Trump said.