State Sen. Doug Mastriano plans to make an announcement next week about the decision he’s made on whether to run for the U.S. Senate, in what he called “crazy news.”
Mastriano, R-Franklin, a uber-conservative who lost his 2022 gubernatorial bid to Democrat Josh Shapiro by 15 percentage points and 800,000 votes, said Saturday at a Lebanon County event that he will reveal his decision to run in the 2024 primaries on Facebook Live.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is up for re-election next year, and at least one other Republican, former Senate candidate and financier Dave McCormick, is looking to challenge Casey. Mastriano has been considering a career in recent months.
“If we run for the United States Senate, it’s ours to lose in the primary,” Mastriano said in an Inquirer interview at the “Walk as Free People” event in Lebanon County. “I don’t think they can stop us,” he pointed to his statewide grassroots support.
Mastriano made a surprise appearance at the event and was greeted with cheers from a crowd of 20 to 25 people.
“Our teams are alive and well in all 67 counties,” added Mastriano. “People are ready to go. So see you next week.”
However, several of his top supporters at Saturday’s party said they weren’t sure whether Mastriano should run in another statewide race, especially one that would take him outside of Harrisburg. But they will support you in whatever you decide.
Others were more excited to support Mastriano in another state election. After Mastriano addressed the group from the Millcreek Township barn filled with American flag decorations, one supporter yelled, “Now United States Senate!” to applause from the group.
Mastriano noted that he and former President Donald Trump were the front-runners – by 18 points – in a March poll of Pennsylvania Republicans by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-affiliated polling firm.
An April Franklin & Marshall College poll shows McCormick as a more competitive candidate than Mastriano in a general election against Casey, though both poll behind the incumbent Democrat.
Some Republican party officials say they believe a Mastriano U.S. Senate run would end any chance they have of flipping Casey’s seat and potentially controlling the U.S. Senate. Even Trump has privately expressed concern that Mastriano could appear at the top of the Pennsylvania ticket with him in the 2024 primary, POLITICO reported last month.
Trump is reluctant to endorse Mastriano this time, after going against the Republican establishment last year to endorse him just before the Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary, three people close to Trump told POLITICO .
Mastriano said he has spent time with McCormick and his wife, former Trump adviser Dina Powell. He likes McCormick’s military experience and Powell’s life story.
“I like his background, but for us, and I hate to say it this way, nobody else is going to beat my drum. I’m going to have to be myself,” Mastriano added. “I’m a one-time candidate to life for it.”
Mastriano also referred to his secret clearance as a colonel in the U.S. Army and his 30 years of military experience, at least 10 of which were spent overseas, which he said prepares him uniquely to work in international foreign policy.
“I have spent a lot of time developing plans with our Baltic allies (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) to defend against Russian aggression, even before that. [the invasion] of Ukraine … Having that kind of depth and understanding I think would be beneficial to have in the US, but you’ll find out what happens next week,” said Mastriano, who retired from the Army in 2017.
Regardless of his decision on a U.S. Senate run, Mastriano said he wants to use his grassroots movement to “give birth to a new generation of leaders” and “make sure that the [next] The generation can live life the way you want and not the way some governor or president says you should.”
“I am not an opportunist. I didn’t want to do politics. I did it out of necessity,” Mastriano added. “Whether I think I’m more effective in Harrisburg right now, I’m going to stay in Harrisburg. If I can be more effective in DC, I will go to DC So my heart is: Where can I best serve the people of Pennsylvania?
