Spotlight: Most outside spending on Pa. governor's race has one aim: to defeat Doug Mastriano

[FakeNoose]

(link) https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2022/10/pa-election-2022-governor-mastriano-shapiro-outside-spending/

HARRISBURG — In the nationally watched race for Pennsylvania governor, Democrat Josh Shapiro has outspent Republican rival Doug Mastriano by tens of millions of dollars, carving out a formidable financial advantage in a contest widely viewed as a referendum on nearly every major issue in American politics.

But Shapiro, the state attorney general, has also separately benefited from millions in spending by groups not connected to his campaign that have a clear partisan agenda and aim to influence the outcome of the election.

Campaign finance records show those outside groups have spent a combined $2.5 million since the start of the year, mostly on advertisements, but also on polls, knocking on doors, and leaving literature on the doorknobs of potential voters.

About half of that money — or $1.3 million — was spent by a handful of groups working to defeat Mastriano, a state senator from Franklin County. That includes the Washington, D.C.-based Republican Accountability Project, which was formed by current and past Republicans in 2020 to oppose former President Donald Trump and now works to defeat GOP candidates who push unfounded claims of widespread election fraud.

- more at link -

Spotlight's illustrative barchart:

[eppur_se_muova]

1. Good. nt

[dutch777]

2. He showed up on a steam train ride we took a few weeks ago....aarrrghhh!

There is a local scenic railroad that does trips to see fall foliage and such. He and his entourage walked thru our car and didn't say anything but I thought it was Mastriano. And no on reached out to say hi either surprisingly given how many MAGAts there are here in PA. I mentioned it to my wide after they were gone and she about blew a gasket. Sure enough there was an announcement soon after that he would be available to meet with folks for a photo op when we got to our destination. Thankfully we didn't see him again and while a few folks reboarding the train had Mastriano buttons on I don't think he was a big hit. Suspect he will be a perpetual candidate for awhile and hopefully a perpetual loser.

[FakeNoose]

3. Was that the Strasburg steam train?

It's the one near Lancaster, am I right? Nice area and a cool thing to do in the fall, if it's the one I'm thinking of.

[dutch777]

4. No it was the Reading and Blue Mountain that goes to Jim Thorpe PA

They only run on steam a few times a year. It's actually a small regional freight railroad that does "last mile" transfers of smaller numbers of cars that the big railroads don't want to handle. They started the tourist trips as they accumulated old passenger cars and as a sideline to the meat and potatoes but it's become a going concern. They sell out in the fall and the steam runs fill first (at a 50% per seat premium for the pleasure). I think Strasburg is all steam which is cool and has been around alot longer.