Some Beaver County residents in attendance told KDKA-TV they've been living in fear, and they just want answers. Still, Democrats remain anxious they could lose to Mr. Mastriano because of the free-floating anger of the electorate this year, with most voters worried primarily about the economy. Want a digest of WHYYs programs, events & stories? Information used in these timelines comes from the Jan. 6 committee, the lawmakers social media pages, public records, and other reporting. Republicans, he contended, must employ every legal tool at their disposal to win races. Please give today. With these two statistics in mind, it seems unlikely that the biggest problems Mastriano and other candidates to the extreme far-right face are not in the voting method or bringing the party together. Who will lead the Pennsylvania House? One of the sharks! he said when I told him I was a journalist. Save L3 One Day Leadership Conference 2023 to your collection. This is one of the reasons I held the hearing and gave a voice to Pennsylvanians who have been harmed by this train wreck and its aftermath, Mastriano said. How Doug Mastriano and Scott Perry were central to the Jan. 6 committees investigation. As more people arrived, a Black man on the road below drove by in a truck and yelled Get out of the twilight zone! at the gathering crowd. Doug Mastriano during a campaign event in Philadelphia. Were going to open up our state lands and rollback regulations, and were going to drill and dig like never before.. State Rep. Mike Jones lavished praise upon Mastriano, comparing the GOP nominee for Pennsylvania governor to Moses in the Bible and where he stood, the dying stopped, Jones said, quoting the book of Numbers in a speech dripping with, There is no king here in America but Jesus Christ, state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz told the crowd. But now, some Republicans are saying their partys insistence on in-person voting makes them vulnerable to Election Day problems, such as inclement weather, long lines and polling place snafus. MONACA Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chairman Doug Mastriano (R-33) today hosted a hearing at Beaver County Community College, where local residents shared their stories in the wake of the Norfolk Southern train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. ), State Rep. Dave Zimmerman listed out 10 ways youre being controlled.. The environment that Joe Biden has created for Josh Shapiro makes this year probably the only year that a Mastriano-type candidate could win in a purple state like Pennsylvania, said Matt Brouillette, the head of a conservative political group in the state that opposed Mr. Mastriano in the primary. My argument is that each of us can become a mule," Presler said at a voter training session in Delaware County, one of several he led in the commonwealth in February. The Shapiro ads use Mr. Mastrianos words to paint him as outside the mainstream, not just on abortion and election denial, but on gay marriage, which he has said should absolutely not be legal, and on global warming, which he called fake science., Youve basically got a one-person governors race right now in terms of voter contact, said Christopher Nicholas, a Republican consultant in the state. Save Bottlerocket Presents: EDDIE PEPITONE to your collection. There was also a stack of stickers, each with drawings of a diverse set of guns pistols, AR-15s, rifles and the words CELEBRATE DIVERSITY.. He did not give a speech, but shook hands and posed for pictures with several dozen supporters. Niebler believes this change of tune on mail-in voting and ballot collection could sink in among some Republicans, depending on which party elites embrace it again. We can't live that now. He said he did not cross any lines established by law enforcement. The bees were vicious, buzzing around the trashcans on the statehouse steps before sometimes darting after the assembled demonstrators. Mastriano had posted a video urging folks to come to the big rally. He was going to give a speech. (Robby Brod/WITF), Jan. 6 insurrection hearings: How to watch and what to know. Hard-right activists in Pa. want to take over the GOP from the ground up. All day Saturday, Oliver menacingly followed Kleppers film crew, sometimes holding up a handheld camera. It remains to be seen if Mr. Mastriano can broaden his appeal to independent and swing voters. And Mr. Mastrianos Ph.D. dissertation has been criticized as deeply flawed, with a former academic adviser saying his doctorate rests on very shaky grounds., Mr. Mastriano the Republican nominee for governor in a crucial battleground state received his Ph.D. in history from the University of New Brunswick in Canada in 2013, the year after he joined the faculty of the War College. Several protests are planned. Doug Mastriano is holding his first public campaign event in Philly on Friday. Several protests are planned. The event, dubbed Philadelphias 1st Hispanic Town Hall, is hosted by the Small Business Union, a nonprofit business league that supports businesses in the area. A woman carrying a large poster of a fetus and the words ITS A BABY swatted a bee from her face. Mr. Mastriano first gained a following for leading protests against restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid. I think Mastriano really likes that story because York became the kind of spiritual warrior that Mastriano sees himself as being, said Jeffrey Scott Brown, a history professor at the University of New Brunswick who advised Mr. Mastriano but objected to his academic techniques. Finally, Mastriano took to the podium. A photograph surfaced of Mr. Mastriano posing in a Confederate uniform with other faculty. He accused Mr. Mastriano of helping former President Trump in trying to overthrow the legitimate, clearly understood and agreed-upon electoral results. His concerns were reported earlier by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Residents said they're sad and angry as they feel like they're being left in the dark, especially if they live outside the one-mile evacuation zone. I think one of the biggest challenges we face, of course, is our reluctance to embrace the reality and the laws we have in the state. 170 Main Capitol Faddis said he, and others, asked Presler previously not to use the term ballot harvesting in any way because it equals illegality, theft and fraud.. We matter!" RT @DCNRnews: #CaledoniaStatePark is looking to fill a variety of open positions across multiple fields at this upcoming on-site hiring event. His support for legal ballot collection which he believes could increase GOP voter turnout echoes a broader messaging change among Republicans who are smarting from last years midterm losses and searching for lessons they can carry into this years election and the 2024 presidential contest. When he won the Republican primary this past May, it raised the alarming prospect that an insurrectionist could be the next governor of Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the 2024 presidential election. Like most candidates, the biggest challenge after winning a primary race is attracting voters from across the aisle or those who fall somewhere in the middle. Moreover, Mastriano had admitted in a video before the rally that he needed cash because hes losing support from national GOP groups. Mastriano, R-Franklin, lost his run against Shapiro, who was then serving as attorney general, in November by about 792,660 votes. Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks floor seat tickets, State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) speaks at the May 15, 2020, protest outside the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (Kate Landis/WITF). ( NewsNation) Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano told NewsNation host Leland Vittert that he didnt know he received $1,000 from Norfolk And then there are the polls, which show Democrat Josh Shapiro in the lead. Or maybe his supporters were more interested in. Doug Mastriano during a campaign event in Philadelphia. But only 50 or so people turned up to hear Mastriano speak. Mr. Shapiro compared the unusually high turnout in deep-red Kansas in favor of abortion rights to how the issue is motivating his own supporters. One wore a hat saying Molon Labe, an ancient Greek phrase meaning Come and take them, a common refrain for Second Amendment fundamentalists. Apply before the event to save time here https://bit.ly/3KGXuww. I didnt say it. Organized just blamed it on being shadow banned on Facebook pic.twitter.com/jfQYSQxRTg. The activist from Delaware County was excited. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation holds Big Game Public Scoring event Love all the fun things that happens on the Harrisburg capitol steps. Mastriano received about 2 million votes from in-person voters compared to Shapiros 1.97 million ballots on Election Day, but Shapiros 1 million mail-in votes were more than five times higher than mail ballots choosing Mastriano. His supporters in Harrisburg Saturday were left to unfurl a giant American flag on the statehouse steps by themselves, as Daino, the event organizer, blared Toby Keiths jingoistic, post-9/11 country anthem Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue out of the speakers. On Wednesday, Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania made three different campaign stops, each with a different means of thwarting local press. Mastriano has siloed himself away on the campaign trail to an astonishing degree, refusing to engage with major media outlets, or even local newspapers, preferring instead to answer only softball questions from friendly far-right influencers, like Steve Bannon, and often holding campaign events on private properties where his security team can chase away reporters. Together we can reach 100% of WHYYs fiscal year goal. He recently launched a super PAC, Early Vote Action, to encourage this all-of-the-above approach among GOP voters in swing states including Pennsylvania. We have not seen much assistance from them and were 49 days out, he said. There is no king here in America but Jesus Christ, state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz told the crowd. Another scholar, James Gregory, a history graduate student at the University of Oklahoma, has identified what he says are multiple errors in Mr. Mastrianos treatise. A Shapiro campaign event in State College. One result of that approach is that he seldom has to field tough questions. They used the pandemic, that mightve been a test drive. he began, before listing off other apparent avenues of control, including climate change, schools and the FBI. BBC "Newshour" covers everything from the growth of democracy to the threat of terrorism with a fresh, clear perspective from across the globe. Between Election Day and Jan. 6, Doug Mastriano participated in an election fraud hearing, and hosted a gathering in Gettysburg with Trumps legal team that was Claims unfounded, doctor says, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, Super meth: What to know about the deadly drug, 'Operation Nightmare' arrests 26 after massacre of six, This feature may be making your iPhone charge slower, Lori Vallows mom: She knew right from wrong, Murdaugh trial: What to expect from jurys crime scene visit. In the 64 days between Election Day and Jan. 6, he posted debunked disinformation on his Facebook page more than 100 times. Mastriano repeatedly supported Trumps election-fraud lies, including staging a policy committee meeting in November 2020 that gave Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Trump, who called into the meeting a platform for disinformation. Is Chinas threat akin to rise of Nazi Germany? For many of the Republicans who are encouraging a revised voting strategy, the ultimate goal is still to get rid of Act 77, the 2019 law that created Pennsylvanias system for no-excuse, mail-in voting. Two former professors at the U.S. Army War College, where he used to teach, declared him unfit for office. The question is can Doug Mastriano keep the Republican Party base and all the factions together? Mr. Reilly said. But Niebler said focusing on voting methods does enable Republicans to avoid introspection about their lackluster midterm showing. DEFUND THE MEDIA, read another, replete with the logos of major media outlets, including HuffPost. A network of grassroots groups largely made up of organizations that opposed coronavirus mitigation rules and supporters of stolen election claims, the Pennsylvania Patriot Coalition formed after Faddis organized an election integrity petition signing in Harrisburg last May. Now, two years later, Daino was organizing this get-out-the-vote event on Saturday for Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor. Capitol attacks full story: Jan. 6 panels chilling details. Save Top Hat Marketing Presents an Evening with Doug Veliky of Revolution Brew to your collection. Moselle crime scene: What will Murdaugh jury see? The coalition and Faddis have made repealing Act 77, Pennsylvania's mail-in voting law, their goal since 2021, with Faddis saying Tuesday that its a vote method with too many points of vulnerability.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The House January 6th Select Committeereleased a reportlast year detailing how Trump and his allies planned to undermine the results of the 2020 Election. That ones just a joke, he explained. And shes not sure the about-face on by-mail ballots will do much, either. Among the first to arrive Saturday morning were three middle-aged white men who appeared to be working security. Mastriano led the effort in the Pa. General Assembly to call for a partisan audit of the 2020 Election, despiteno widespread voter fraudbeing detected. On Friday, Mr. Mastriano held a campaign rally in Erie, Pa., with Jack Posobiec, a far-right provocateur and Navy veteran who helped spread the PizzaGate hoax the false rumor in 2016 that Hillary Clinton and other Democratic officials were running a child sex trafficking ring out of a Washington pizza parlor. 90.5 WESA. Anyone can read what you share. So its not clear how much this tactical change might help Republicans win future races, said Sarah Niebler, a political science professor at Dickinson College. Mike Hanna Sr., a retired Democratic state lawmaker from the area, said Mr. Mastriano has a strong base here, just like Trump. But Mr. Hanna said the former president had lost support since inciting the mob that attacked the Capitol. While he agrees the GOP must incorporate mail-in balloting as part of their election strategies for now, he says he hopes Republicans would repeal the system as soon as they claim power in Harrisburg. , whose followers have been implicated in the insurrection, armed standoffs with the feds and terror plots. But because of the paperwork required for ballot collection in Pennsylvania, Niebler doesnt see it scaling into anything that will make a huge difference in the commonwealths elections. During a brief visit to Preslers speaking engagement in Franklin County, Mastriano thanked Presler for fighting the good fight before recounting the challenges that lie ahead for the GOP. And his poor fund-raising he ended the primary season with just $400,000 in his campaign account, compared with $13.4 million for Mr. Shapiro has left him unable to run TV ads all summer to counter a barrage of attacks from his opponent. After mentioning how Florida Gov. WATCH and READ PRESS CLIPS: ABC 6 ACTION NEWS Jewish leaders gather in Philly to decry Doug Mastriano's link to controversial online platform WHYY As the GOP openly backs Mastriano, Jewish Dems tell them theres no coming back from this Business Insider Gab controversy: Democrats, Jewish leaders criticize Doug Mastriano's (This was in my neighborhood and I didnt notice, one nearby resident tweeted. I get it that (Preslers) got a technical definition that doesn't include (illegal ballot harvesting). All the folks who listen to those far-right podcasts, I think he maxed out his vote potential. An embarrassing showing. Fury at those orders lingers for many conservatives. At Mr. Shapiros mention of Mr. Mastriano during a speech, a woman shouted, You better win!. Were all disabled! a man laughingly responded at a Franklin County meeting. I want 2 million mules.". Senator asks why Pennsylvanians had to wait so much longer than Ohioans for a clinic. WebJoin Doug and Rebbie Mastriano along with Christina Bobb, Wendy Bell and other great speakers in Franklin County, PA on March 11th!! Democrats won all three vacant Pittsburgh-area House seats to claim a slim edge over Republicans, finally securing a majority they first appeared to have won in November. Please. Dr. Browns criticisms included Mr. Mastrianos amateur archaeological sleuthing on a French battlefield and his credulity in accepting divine intervention to explain Sergeant Yorks heroics. HARRISBURG State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-33) hosted a Senate committee hearing last week in Monaca, Beaver County, to hear from residents impacted by the Norfolk Southern train wreck. Trump has done a lot to erode his standing with his base, and Mastrianos participation in all that, and the extreme positions hes taken, have done the same thing., Itd be a lot scarier for us, Mr. Hanna said, if the Republicans had selected a moderate., Once Alarmed, Mainstream Pennsylvania Republicans Unite Around Mastriano, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/us/politics/doug-mastriano-republicans-pennsylvania.html. Doug Mastriano is holding his first public campaign event in Philly on Friday. Save Taste & Twirl: Nightclub TwoStep to your collection. WebJoin Doug and Rebbie Mastriano along with Christina Bobb, Wendy Bell and other great speakers in Franklin County, PA on March 11th!! I cant help but ask why Ohio was able to open a clinic for its residents so much faster than Pennsylvania. As was one man from York County who was there to sell MAGA merchandise, unfurling Blue Lives Matter flags across a folding table. Doug Mastriano during a campaign event in Philadelphia. He doesn't have much faith GOP officials would actually follow through, though. Mastriano directly communicated with a Trump-sympathetic DOJ official about his false election fraud claims, which he also spread to his tens of thousands of social media followers. Local residents began reporting health concerns within days following the train wreck, but it has taken nearly a month to meet their needs. He has routinely snubbed the states TV news outlets and newspapers that might help him reach a broader audience. These two Patriots wouldnt give me their names. Playing off former President Donald Trump's claims about widespread cheating, the movie asserts that nefarious political operatives, or mules, illegally collected ballots and stuffed drop boxes to help President Joe Biden capture victory. In their view, this could be dampening GOP voter turnout compared to Democrats, whose embrace of mail-in voting gives them more flexibility about when and how to cast their ballots. Mastriano has denied a subpoena from the committee, butrecently agreedto an interview in lieu of a deposition. Later, Mastriano talked about other freedoms he wanted like the freedom to use undocumented immigrants as pawns. The officer corps is sworn to defend the Constitution rather than any one person or president, Tami Davis Biddle, who was chair of the War Colleges faculty council, wrote in an opinion article for a Harrisburg newspaper. In a statement, Pennsylvania state department officials said its wrong to suggest almost anyone could be considered disabled. We won on Election Day by 70,000. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a 2020 election denier who was defeated by now-Gov. Mr. Coplen was a professor of economic development at the War College for a decade. The derailment has continued to cause problems for Ohioans and Pennsylvanians who live just across the border. Mr. Reilly later defended Mr. Mastriano as the better choice to lead Pennsylvania over his Democratic opponent, Josh Shapiro. The University of New Brunswick, which released the dissertation last month under pressure, said in a statement it could not discuss Mr. Mastrianos degree without his consent. We stand with female athletes. By law, a person cant serve as a designated agent for more than one individual with disabilities per election. Leland Vittert. Rupert Murdochs testimony in Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News could change how media outlets do business. But Mr. Gregory insisted there were many more issues that, in his view, added up to academic dishonesty. Fax: 717-264-3652, 33 York Street Several Pennsylvanians affected by the train wreck asked why Pennsylvania has not offered the same service to its residents. How far theyd come together. Mastriano and his colleagues learned at the hearing that Ohio residents have had access to a health clinic in their state, but it would not serve Pennsylvania residents. Thank you for visiting Senator Mastrianos Facebook page. Hed met Doug Mastriano at a 2020 COVID denial rally a reopen rally, he called it in the early days of the pandemic, when Mastriano was just a state Chambersburg, PA 17201 (Its clear that Doug Mastrianos desperate campaign is flailing as Pennsylvanians come together to reject his radical extremism, Manuel Bonder, a spokesman for the Shapiro campaign, told HuffPost in response to the rallys poor attendance. Pennsylvania Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano has been identified as a key figure bythe House Jan. 6 committee in their investigation into the Capitol insurrection and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. His campaign had paid $5,000 to broaden his support with users of the social media site, which is known as a haven for white nationalists. (NewsNation) Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano told NewsNation host Leland Vittert that he didnt know he received $1,000 from Norfolk Southerns political action committee. Less than a week after learning at the hearing that local families need a health clinic to serve Pennsylvania residents, Mastriano asked the administration to commit to deploying a clinic to the area, replete with toxicologists and other specialists to provide free and immediate help to the residents. Tom Wolfs shutdown of nonessential businesses early in the pandemic. Maybe Mastriano didnt advertise it enough? Larry and Kay Woodcock, grandparents of the victims, spoke exclusively with NewsNations Ashleigh Banfield. pic.twitter.com/l91Pk2Zz3b. "Nobody wants to give us any answers. Oct 26, 2022 Senator Doug Mastriano speaks to the large crowd that has gathered in front of Old Main for the Turning Point Rally on Friday Nov. 12, 2021 in State dmastriano@pasen.gov Gabs founder, Andrew Torba, defended Mr. Mastriano in videos laced with antisemitic vitriol. campaigning with a self-described prophet. He did tell me he expects Democrats to try to steal this upcoming election from Mastriano, just like they stole the 2020 election from former President Donald Trump. Part of HuffPost Politics. The Jan. 6 committee has also subpoenaed midstate Pa. Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry for his involvement in Trumps attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 Election. I hear it every single day, Mr. Shapiro told the crowd. His research focused on a World War I hero, Sgt. We The Medicine - Healing Our Norfolk Southern, the company whose train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, issued a statement Thursday emphasizing the crew responded appropriately to the alarm.