HARRISBURG, Pa. — Leading candidates for the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania’s open governor's office met Wednesday night for their first statewide live-televised prime-time debate as they seek an edge in a nine-person field that could yield a primary winner with less than 30% of the vote.
The candidates are: Lou Barletta, the GOP’s nominee for U.S. Senate in 2018 and a former congressman known for his crusade against illegal immigration; state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a force in Pennsylvania’s right-wing politics who pushed to overturn 2020′s presidential election; Bill McSwain, a lawyer in private practice who was the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia under former President Donald Trump; and Dave White, who runs an $85 million-a-year plumbing and HVAC firm and is a former Delaware County councilman.
They appeared at the studio of WHTM-TV in Harrisburg for the one-hour debate.
The four met the polling threshold set by the station’s parent company as they vie for the nomination to succeed the term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat. Five others did not meet the polling threshold.
The candidates discussed a number of issues during the debate, but the one they all agreed on were the removal of mail-in ballots.
"We have so many people right now that are questioning our democracy and our elections," said White. "They're not secure."
Meanwhile, McSwain took this as a time to throw a jab at Mastriano about Act 77, the legislation that allows mail-in voting in Pennsylvania.
"Right now there's a court decision from the Commonwealth courts that says Act 77 is unconstitutional, and Act 77 was brought to you by Doug Mastriano," said McSwain. "He voted for Act 77 in the legislature."
In response Mastriano said, "Act 77 has to be repealed because it was compromised by the Democrats that's the facts."
However, Barletta argued that VOTER ID needs to be a top priority, one of the few things he and Mastriano were in agreement with tonight.
The candidates were also asked how they would stifle violent crime across the state. Barletta argued there needs to be more support for local police departments.
"We need to make sure that our police officers not only have the funding that they need but the respect that they deserve," he said.
Mastriano also spoke on the topic, saying, "We're looking at fully funding the police but also expanding victims protection. Some of these criminals get out of jail and the victims aren't even protected."
Right now, the polls show that Mastriano is the favorite among voters with Barletta right behind him.
Despite these early numbers, McSwain and White both call themselves the outsiders, and they're pretty optimistic moving forward.
"Of course I'm an outsider, and that's what we need in Harrisburg: someone that can stand up," White said.
"What we need is a conservative outsider to be the governor who will make the hard decision and follow through on those decisions to improve our state," said McSwain.
Neither the state party nor Trump have endorsed in the race, leaving the field that much more wide open. Two-term state Attorney General Josh Shapiro does not face a challenger for the Democratic Party's nomination.
The primary election is May 17.