GOP blame game erupts in Pennsylvania governor's race - POLITICO

Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks during a campaign rally at The Fuge on May 14, 2022 in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

Doug Mastriano on the verge of capturing the Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nomination, Republicans are lashing out, furious that he could cost them a shot at a competitive race in the perennial swing state.

Even before Election Day, some Republicans in the state are pointing fingers over Mastriano’s expected win, specifically singling out state party Chair Lawrence Tabas.

He’s the one in charge, so it’s up to him to figure this out,” said Jackie Kulback, the chair of the Cambria County Republican Party.

I support him,” said Rob Gleason, himself a former state party chair.

Vonne Andring, a senior adviser for the Republican Party, responded to a request for comment sent to Tabas by saying that “the Republican State Committee voted overwhelmingly not to endorse — to give the candidates and their consultants every opportunity to make their best case to the voters.”.

“You have the old Harry Truman quote: ‘The buck stops here,’’ said one top Republican official in the state, who was granted anonymity to discuss intraparty dynamics.

Some prominent Pennsylvania Republican individuals and donors are even considering publicly supporting Josh Shapiro, the presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee, if Mastriano wins the primary, several party sources told POLITICO.

“This is the first time in 44 years that the state party has not endorsed a candidate for governor,” he said in an interview with Newsmax on Monday morning.

“And so truly, we have an opportunity in Pennsylvania where the people can make a vote without influence from the state party apparatus.

Last week, prominent Republicans in the state began to scramble to head off Mastriano by trying to push candidates out of the race in an effort to consolidate support around a single, anti-Mastriano choice.

Republicans who oppose Mastriano were alarmed, viewing it as further evidence underscoring that the state senator was the easiest candidate to beat in the general election.

Pete Ricketts refused to commit to devoting Republican Governors Association resources to Pennsylvania should Mastriano emerge as the nominee

One Republican aide familiar with the committee’s plans, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the decision-making process, said that while the RGA wouldn’t rule out spending in the state, “Mastriano gives us less reason to support the Republican in the state than other candidates would” because he would be a weak general election candidate