In an election season when inflation and high gasoline prices gave most Republicans the upper hand, Mastriano had fallen past numbers. For weeks, it will go on fire for its ties to far-right social media platforms. He had an account earlier this year on Gab, the site where Robert Bowers made violent anti-Semitic comments before the shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue. Mastriano, his CEO of Gab, said in an interview with Andrew Torba,, "Thank you for what you've done," and told the site for a "consulting" service. I paid $5,000.
"People weren't happy with his nomination, and that's why," said Josh Novotny, a Republican consultant in Pennsylvania. "Because it's like, 'When will the other shoe fall too?' What else do you have?
The reaction within the Republican Party to the incident has taken on a Trumpian character. Some insiders have complained largely personally about what they see as Mastriano's unforced mistakes, with a handful of Republican candidates in highly competitive districts distancing themselves from him. is placed. But most Republican leaders, at least publicly, seem to stick to Mastriano's side.
"The man spent $5,000 — $5,000 — consulting or trying to advertise on social media platforms. How much Josh Shapiro spent on Twitter, or how much Josh Shapiro spent on Facebook. has been used by recent mass murderers,” said Sam DeMarco, Republican Speaker of Allegheny County, one of the most populous areas of the state. "I thought Senator Mastriano did the right thing and said, 'Hey, these people don't speak for me.'"
Republican officials in the state did not abandon him in the race against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro, but mass Triano contains the aftermath of the gab controversy. His CEO of Gab, Torba, has made anti-Semitic comments, stating, "His policy is not to do interviews with non-Christian reporters or non-Christian outlets, and Doug doesn't do interviews." We have a very similar media strategy," he said. with these people.
In response, Mastriano said in his Twitter statement that Torba "does not represent me" and that "I reject any form of anti-Semitism." And he seems to have deleted his Gab account.
Mastriano also discussed the matter with the recent campaign stoppage and on his conservative YouTube show. ADL… They said Twitter had 4.2 million anti-Semitic tweets in one year. Okay, I'm asking my opponent Josh Shapiro to give up Twitter, stop Twitter," he told Chris Wyatt.
(In a statement about this article, Shapiro spokesperson Will Simmons said: ")
Mastriano also cleaned up behind the scenes. I did. At a fundraiser for gubernatorial candidates outside Philadelphia last Wednesday, Mastriano addressed the report on the gab, said Andy Riley of the Republican National Committee who organized the event.
"On his own, he quickly denounced anti-Semitism early in his comments, stated what he believed, and said he had been a lifelong soldier and had worked with people of all faiths. He's a great man, and I believe in protecting people's faith and even protecting atheists from not having faith," Riley said. "30 years in the military, you can't live with that kind of disgust."
Some would have liked to have denounced Gabu more swiftly and forcefully, but Mastriano's efforts have so far failed him. appears to have succeeded in preventing a major defection from the party. Last Thursday, Mastriano was a Pennsylvania legislator and a Washington D.C. C. met personally at He posted a statement on Gab hours later, announcing that all but one of his nine Republican congressmen in the state had endorsed him this week.
"Families in Pennsylvania are struggling to get gas in their cars and food on their tables," they said in a joint statement. “Progressive policies endorsed by Joe Biden and Josh Shapiro are leading to declining jobs, rising crime rates, rampant drug addiction, and diminishing freedom for Pennsylvania's hardworking families.”
58} Christopher Nicholas, a longtime Pennsylvania-based Republican consultant, said nothing could stop Republicans from banding behind Mastriano during the post-primary years."The people who got a clue about Gab's story were the people who never intended to support Mastriano, and that was the 217th reason," which was a "good" response.
Mr. Riley said the Republican's reaction was that "just because he used it for propaganda doesn't mean he accepted the view," and that "anyone complaining about it is my fault." I didn't come to the place," he said.
Blake Marls, chairman of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Central Republican League, said: I can't imagine they were negative in any way or that he didn't become a colonel.
He called Torba an "anti-Semite" and said Mastriano "made a political mistake, but I don't know if it was intentional."
As long as Republicans have expressed their displeasure about Mastriano's relationship with Gabe, it is not a public denunciation, and has hitherto been done behind closed doors. Some GOP insiders said the incident was the kind of thing they feared would happen when they ran against him in the primary. Others have even compared it to being forced to constantly react to Trump's explosive comments.
"Just shake your head," said a Republican county mayor from Pennsylvania who requested anonymity to speak up. "Does he really want to win this?"
One Republican activist who has spoken publicly about his concerns is Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. Last month, he urged Mastriano to "end his ties with Gab, a social network that is rightly seen by Jewish Americans as a cesspool of bigotry and anti-Semitism."
Several Republican lawmakers in battlegrounds have also kept their distance from Mastriano. State Rep. Todd Stevens, who represents some of Philadelphia's moderate suburbs, wrote on Facebook that Gab's CEO "made disgusting and anti-Semitic comments," and "other than outright rejection." There is no good reason for this," he posted.
Another Republican member of the Philadelphia suburb Brian Fitzpatrickwas the state's only Republican Representative who did not endorse Mastriano. He also didn't attend a meeting with him last week, according to multiple sources, but staff did.
Fitzpatrick's spokesperson Nancy McCarty said she was "at an intelligence meeting" at the time and that she "still has met and talked to Senator Mastriano about the Pennsylvania plan."
Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) will retire this year, but will endorse Mastriano. It has not been made clear whether there are any. In 2016, Toomey refused to reveal whether he supported Trump until Election Day when he announced he had voted for Trump.
Mastriano's campaign, which has cut ties with most mainstream media, did not respond to requests for comment.
Mastriano is part of a small but growing cohort of Republican candidates and elected officials associated with Gab or its founder, his Torba.
He finished third in the 2022 Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary, and Kathy Barnett, who often campaigned alongside Mastriano, spent at least $3,000 of her on "online services." . Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene(R-Ga.)'s campaign paid out at least her $36,000 in "digital marketing" last year.
Perhaps next in prominence to Mastriano is Mark Finkem, a congressman from Arizona and his 2020 election conspiracy theorist, who won the Republican nomination for secretary of state on Tuesday. Under the name "AZHoneyBadger" he has an active account on Gab His Finchem proudly advertises his Torba endorsement on his campaign website.
Finkem said Truba supported him, including State Representative Wendy Rogers, who was condemned by the state Senate after speaking about hanging "traitors" from the gallows at a white supremacist conference. was part of the Arizona state candidate. Rodgers, who Mastriano endorsed, also won Tuesday's primary.
But for the other candidates for that slate, Torba was too far a bridge.A spokesperson for Trump-supporting former TV anchor Kari Lake, who led the all-too-closely contested gubernatorial race, told the Arizona Mirror: especially anti-Semitism. We never asked for this approval. (Lake has his Gab account, but hasn't posted since early January.)
Blake, the Republican Senate candidate from Arizona, also issued a statement to Miller: in which he said: He's heard of this man and I refuse to endorse him," he said, adding that the only people who cared about his endorsement were the media.
Zach Monteraro contributed to this report.
