In what analysts are calling an unprecedented move in an era of extreme hyperpartisanship, a group of Republican leaders — including a number of former officials who have been stalwarts of Pennsylvania's GOP establishment for decades in Harrisburg and Washington — is bucking their party to endorse Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor.
Shapiro, the sitting attorney general, will roll out the endorsements of 10 Republicans on Wednesday as part of a continued effort to label his candidacy a reach-across-the-aisle aficionado who will unify the parties to get things done.
The list includes two former U.S. representatives, Charlie Dent and Jim Greenwood; former state House Speaker Denny O'Brien; former Lt. Gov. and longtime state Sen. Robert Jubelirer; and former state Supreme Court Justice Sandra Schultz Newman.
The endorsements aren't just vague odes to bipartisanship in a divided country; they serve as a direct hit against state Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor, and it's reminiscent of the effort before the GOP primary among Republican insiders to coalesce support around an alternative. That effort failed, but Shapiro's camp and allies are hoping this lends credence to his argument that Mastriano is on the fringe of his own party.
Morgan Boyd, the chair of the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners and the only current official on the list, said Pennsylvania is at a crossroads and that Shapiro is "the only candidate with a vision, the experience and the plan to bring it back."
Boyd said he was drawn to the Republican Party because he believes in fiscal responsibility, small government and using government as a force for good. This isn't a time to vote for someone simply because of the letter next to their name, he added.
"I think there's actually a large number of moderate Republicans across the state right now who are considering either openly supporting Josh or silently supporting him through their vote," Boyd said. "I would encourage them to use their experiences to search within their hearts and make the determination themselves that they feel is best for the commonwealth. I think that, by and large, they'll come to the same conclusion that I did."
Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, said it's hard to break ranks in this era of negative partisanship and that, even though some Republicans have deviated from former President Donald Trump, it remains "pretty rare." In Pennsylvania statewide races, it's even more rare, he said — especially to come out publicly in support of the opposition.
The list of GOP endorsers represents the "bedrock" of the Pennsylvania Republican Party in recent years, Borick said, and speaks to the many Republicans who aren't enamored with the direction of the party. Endorsements don't matter much, he said, but as Shapiro puts together his case, they'll serve as evidence against his opponent.
"I think for most Republicans, they accept Mastriano as their nominee and most likely will vote for him," Borick said, "but on the margins — and the margins are going to be very important — I think the endorsements will help Shapiro's case in key areas,"
Borick said he expects Mastriano and his allies to counter that these GOP officials are RINOs — Republicans In Name Only — who don't speak for the movement right now and that voters should discount their voices because they're not truly Republicans.
When GOP insiders tried to quietly assemble support around an alternative in the primary, Mastriano labeled it the "swamp" striking back and said it would be ultimately meaningless. It was, and he insisted that he was the only candidate who had the base of support and momentum to beat Shapiro.
In a Facebook livestream this past weekend, Mastriano continued to champion his candidacy as a voice for people in Pennsylvania who are fed up with politics as usual.
"It's time to try something different. It's time for Republican Gov. Doug Mastriano to have your back, and we'll have your back," Mastriano said. "We'll honor and respect your freedoms, lift this state up and bring freedom back."
Jubelirer — the former lieutenant governor, longtime state senator, and veteran of almost all the big GOP presidential campaigns in the 1980s and '90s who fondly recalls the days of Tom Ridge and Dick Thornburgh — said Shapiro is the first Democrat he's raised his voice in support of. He called Shapiro a moderate Democrat who can work with both sides, like he's done as state representative, county commissioner and attorney general.
"Whatever he does, he's going to do well," Jubelirer said. "He will not play the political game."
Boyd said he did not support Trump in 2020 because he could not condone the president's narrative about election integrity, even though he agreed with many of his policies. He hypothesized that so many Republicans are drawn to Mastriano because rural Pennsylvanians are, by and large, fed up with the status quo and with politicians who haven't kept their promises. They're voting for someone they believe is not part of the establishment, he said.
Shapiro, meanwhile, is talking about many of the issues that matter to rural Pennsylvanians, Boyd said.
"He's talking about investments in housing. He's talking about investments in infrastructure. He's talking about investments in workforce development," Boyd said. "All of this is so incredibly needed in our rural communities, and even more than that, he has an overarching strategy on how to build Pennsylvania's economy and how to reverse the decades of decline that we've seen all across the state."
