HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has won the election for Pennsylvania governor, defeating Republican candidate Doug Mastriano, according to the AP projection.
Shapiro and Lt. Governor Austin Davis will replace Tom Wolf, extending the eight-year run of Democratic control in the governor’s mansion.
Shapiro enjoyed a comfortable double-digit lead in most pre-election polling, and Tuesday night’s results bore that out.
Mastriano’s political demeanor– he was a vocal denier of the 2020 presidential election results, and was present at the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol – proved to not be the choice of Pennsylvania voters.
Shapiro vowed to protect abortion rights in Pennsylvania following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this year, a position that likely helped him maintain his polling advantage in the weeks leading up to the election, even as the hard-fought U.S. Senate race between fellow Democrat John Fetterman and GOP candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz grew tighter.
The 49-year-old Shapiro has served as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General since 2016, when he defeated Republican John Rafferty Jr. He was re-elected to his position in 2020.
During his tenure, Shapiro released the findings of a statewide grand jury report that revealed the abuse of children by priests and cover-ups by church leaders.
In 2019, Shapiro negotiated a settlement of a disagreement that had dragged on for nearly six years, between Highmark and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The settlement allowed 1.9 million insurance recipients to continue using their existing doctors as in-plan providers rather than being forced to either switch medical providers or insurance providers.
Born in Kansas City, Mo., Shapiro was raised in Montgomery County. He studied political science at the University of Rochester and earned a law degree from Georgetown University.
In addition to his tenure as attorney general, Shapiro has also served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 2005 to 2012. He was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011 and served on the Board for six years, including two years as Chairman.
Shapiro and his wife, Lori, have been married for 25 years and live with their four children in Abington.
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