Former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday backed Doug Mastriano, a retired colonel and state senator who has propagated countless false allegations about the 2020 election and witnessed the Capitol riot protest in the Republican primary for governor of Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump made his choice three days before Tuesday’s primary election on Tuesday, a political blessing that serves to boost the former president’s credibility as much as Mr Mastriano’s.
“There is no one in Pennsylvania who has done more or fought harder for the integrity of the election,” Trump said in a statement, adding that Mr. Mastriano would also “fight violent crime.” , will strengthen our borders, will protect our lives, will protect our Second Amendment under siege and help our military and our veterinarians. “
A study by Fox News, published on Tuesday, showed that Mr. Mastriano had a 12 percentage point lead over his closest primary rival, former representative Lou Barletta.
Since then, Mr Barletta has sought to unite the support of Republicans, who are preventing Mr Mastriano from being nominated. Two fellow candidates dropped out and backed Mr Barletta, as well as several prominent former elected officials, including former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
Mr Trump, whose elected candidate for governor of Nebraska lost the primary in Tuesday’s election, is at risk of another stain on his record in the Pennsylvania Senate race. His chosen one, the TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz, failed to put daylight between himself and the field of candidates.
Mr Mastriano has long been a staunch supporter of Mr Trump. He used the money from his campaign to organize buses to Washington on January 6, 2021, and last month participated in a campaign at an event that promoted the strange conspiracy theory QAnon.
Pennsylvania Republicans who are not in line with Mastriano’s campaign have said he cannot win a general election against Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, who is the Democrats’ alleged candidate for governor. Mr Shapiro’s campaign recently began broadcasting television commercials that seemed to aim to raise Mr Mastriano’s position among Republican primary voters.
In a statement after Saturday’s approval, Mr Barletta said: “During this campaign, I have proved that I am the best Republican to unite the Republican Party and defeat Josh Shapiro, and I will continue to unite our indigenous Conservatives towards our shared goal. . “
He added: “I look forward to receiving President Trump’s approval on Wednesday morning.”
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