Writer: Joshua Andino
2 min read November 2022 — With Democrats having pulled off the best midterm election season for the incumbent’s party in decades, Pennsylvania’s Doug Mastriano finally conceded to Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro on Sunday
Five days after election day, Mastriano released a one-page statement in which he acknowledged the results of the election and Shapiro’s victory, saying, “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.”
While the defeated candidate’s concession has normally been considered a key aspect of the peaceful transfer of power that has been the hallmark of the American democratic system, Donald Trump’s failure to acknowledge his defeat in 2020 to Joe Biden, and the subsequent cohort of hand-picked candidates that were chosen for their claims of election denialism, transformed the normally mundane ritual into an important barometer of candidates’ respect for the democratic process.
Despite the delay in conceding, Gov.-elect Shapiro remained undaunted over the weekend, telling CNN’s Dana Bash on Saturday, “Who cares? He doesn’t get to pick the winner. The people pick the winner.”
Shapiro’s win of the Pennsylvania governorship underscored a key win for Democrats — while Congress has received the lion’s share of attention, with Democrats having secured the Senate even before the second upcoming Georgia runoff and the Republicans majority in the House still uncertain, Democratic governors had a strong showing, with Shapiro’s win in Pennsylvania rounding off a series of victories in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, and now after the weekend, Pennsylvania and Arizona. The Grand Canyon State saw its own election denier, Republican Kari Lake, fall behind Democrat Katie Hobbs as votes were counted over the weekend and potentially flip the state to Democrats — even as neighboring Nevada Democrat Gov. Steve Sisoloyak was ousted by Republican challenger Joe Lombardo.
For the Keystone State, it means 2023 will be marked by the newly minted Gov. Shapiro, Sen. Fetterman, and a potentially narrow Republican majority in the State House and Senate. Tight races in Montgomery and Bucks County, as well as the Oct. 9 death of Rep. Tony Deluca, means control of the lower chamber is still in play.
Shapiro’s record includes his time as chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners before becoming the state attorney general, making headlines upon releasing a two-year grand jury report on the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandals throughout the state. More recently, he played a key role in ensuring all of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties were party to the landmark, $26 billion settlement with pharmaceutical companies’ role in the nationwide opioid epidemic. The state received $1.07 billion as a result. While on the campaign trail, he addressed public safety concerns, abortion rights and touted the win as a victory for democracy.
“The good people of Pennsylvania won. A woman’s right to choose won. Your right to vote won, in the face of all the lies in the conspiracies and baseless claims. Real freedom won in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said.
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