Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano
State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin, a Republican candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, takes part in a primary night election gathering in Chambersburg, Pa., Tuesday, May 17, 2022.Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
  • There is a Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania.

  • He stated in an interview on Monday that the overturn of the abortion law would help his opponent.

  • The decision was a distraction from other issues.

Doug Mastriano won the Republican nomination for governor in Pennsylvania by leaning into the culture war, using his Facebook live streams to rail against vaccine requirements, and members of his own party who didn't embrace conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

The Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion last week was welcomed by this opponent of the procedure, who now admits that the issue is a boon to Democrats.

Mastriano was asked about the pro-choice protesters who were dispersed by police with tear gas outside the state capitol in Arizona. Mastriano, who himself was on the front lines between police and protesters at the US Capitol, praised law enforcement for quelling the civil unrest.

He insisted that "it's all a distraction" and that the state senator didn't want to discuss it.

Mastriano told the right-wing news outlet that the Democrats and their friends in the traditional media want us to deal with life instead of focusing on abortion. Most people in this country are worried about inflation, gas prices, food not on the shelves, baby formula, and many other things. This is all a distraction, right?

It wasn't a problem when Mastriano was running. He said in May that he opposed the right to end a baby's life.

"That baby deserves a right to life, whether it was conceived incest, or rape, or whether there's concerns for the mom," he said during a campaign stop.

Mastriano did reiterate his support for eliminating the federal right to abortion, but he didn't expand on his own stance. He conceded that the issue would help his opponent for the governorship.

Mastriano thinks his opponent will get a boost in the polls in the next few weeks. People will vote on the economy.

Right-wing Republicans in the mid-Atlantic are trying to avoid making abortion a litmus test for voters in the election.

Mastriano, standing alongside Rudy Giuliani and his son, Andrew, who he was there to endorse in his bid for New York governor, spoke at length about energy policy and fielding softball questions from those in attendance. The biggest news of the day was the long-awaited victory of the conservative movement over abortion rights.

In Pennsylvania, a divided, bellwether state which went for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and former Vice President Joe Biden in 2020, surveys show that the Democrat has a small lead over the Republican.

In a state where most residents support keeping abortion legal, the politics of reproductive rights appear to be shared by the campaign of Shapiro. Without a Democratic governor, the legislature could pass new restrictions as early as next year.

The ad was released last week and led with Mastriano's stance on reproductive rights.

The narrator states that he wants to criminalize all abortions andoppose any exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother.

The top of his Facebook page was attacked by Mastriano. "Gas: unaffordable" is its top line.

Tell us about a news story. C Davis is the reporter for Insider.

Business Insider has an article on it.