PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano conceded the race to Democrat Josh Shapiro on Sunday
As of writing, Governor-elect Shapiro has secured 56 percent of the vote in Nov. 8's election, while Mastriano collected 42 percent.
In a statement posted Sunday on social media, Mastriano conceded the election to Shapiro, saying he asks everyone to give the Governor-elect the opportunity to lead.
In his letter, Mastriano also called for election reform. He says that elections need to be more transparent, secure, and quickly decided, as official results still are not available as of writing.
"Here we are, almost five days to when the polls closed on Tuesday.. and our Department of State, our Secretary of the Commonwealth has yet to release officials results for the gubernatorial or Senate race," said Mastriano. "Pennsylvanian's deserve to have faith in their electors, and that's how you do it, with good, timely results." Mastriano continued.
In a Facebook live stream that accompanied the release of his letter, Mastriano also thanked his supporters and applauded what they were able to achieve.
“We are grateful for you guys. We were massively outspent,” said Mastriano. “We outperformed many other Republic gubernatorial candidates who benefited from millions of dollars of PAC money coming in to help them.”
Read Mastriano's statement here:
The results of the 2022 Mid-term Elections are not what we hoped, prayed, and fought so hard for, and yet there is so much for which I am grateful. We were massively outspent and yet we outperformed Republican gubernatorial candidates that benefitted from millions of dollars and the support of national PACs and organizations we did not.
We gave this race everything we had to give. I’m profoundly grateful to my wife, Rebbie, who stood by my side and kept me strong and grounded every step of the way. I’m indebted to my team, which gave everything it had and asked what more it could give. I owe them more than I can ever repay. I want to thank my running mate, Carrie DelRosso, for her boundless energy, cheerfulness, and support. I simply could not have asked for a better running-mate and I wish her well in what, no doubt, will be a bright future. I salute the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, its leadership and its members, all of whom had the courage to fight for my campaign -- despite the winds that blew. They will always have my gratitude and respect.
In all, we received votes from more than 2.2 million Pennsylvanians, and I thank every one of you, from the bottom of my heart, for your support. This was indeed ‘The People’s’ movement. It’s a movement that defied the odds, and it’s a movement that will continue to defy the odds. It must.
Difficult to accept as the results are, there is no right course but to concede, which I do, and I look to the challenges ahead. Josh Shapiro will be our next Governor, and I ask everyone to give him the opportunity to lead and pray that he leads well.
Pennsylvania is in great need of election reform. As I write this, the final results of the 2022 Mid-term Elections are still not available. We can and must do better to make our elections more transparent, secure, and more quickly decided. Pennsylvanians deserve to have faith in our elections. As a State Senator, I will do my very best to help Josh Shapiro deliver that to Pennsylvanians and, if he does, I will be the first to acknowledge and applaud his achievement.
Finally, I will admit that Rebbie and I have not taken the easy road. We chose to be exactly who we are, knowing full-well the nature of politics. But we are resolute in our convictions and steadfast in our belief that everyone should walk as free people. Freedom is never won easily, and it is never won once and for all. It’s a fight that never rests. Rebbie and I will be in that fight every step of the way.
With deepest gratitude,
Doug Mastriano