PENNSYLVANIA — Doug Mastriano is about to supercharge the Republican primary for Governor, forcing the other candidates to respond to his long record of spreading election lies, amplifying QAnon conspiracy theories, peddling COVID-19 disinformation, and endorsing far-right, out-of-touch policies.
So, in honor of his entrance into the PA Apprentice contest, let’s take a look back at some of Mastriano’s greatest (and most terrifying) hits:
- Mastriano boasted that Donald Trump told him to get in the race, saying, “He had asked me to run some months ago […] He said, ‘Doug, run and I’ll campaign for you.’” This statement was quickly rejected by Trump’s Team, with a senior advisor reiterating that no endorsement had been made in the PA-Gov race.
- Mastriano eagerly shared QAnon messages, promoting QAnon over 50 times on Twitter. As a QAnon-believing conspiracy theorist, Mastriano appeared on a program on the QAnon-focused Patriots Soapbox network, and was also scheduled to participate in QAnon-branded conference Patriots Arise, Awakening the Dead! before backing out.
- In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Mastriano refused to acknowledge reality, instead, leading the charge on behalf of the Big Lie by frantically writing a letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue (and Cc’ing then-U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain) reiterating Trump’s Big Lie, a letter that has since garnered Mastriano national attention from the Jan. 6 committee. When this unhinged letter didn’t work, Mastriano traveled to AZ to visit their sham audit.
- In his effort to champion the Big Lie, Mastriano spearheaded a “hearing” with Rudy Giuliani in Gettysburg a few weeks after the 2020 presidential election, where Trump egged the crowd on by phone saying, “This is going to be your crowning achievement because you’re saving our country.”
- Mastriano participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection and spent thousands to bus Pennsylvanians to Washington, D.C. that day.
- Mastriano was the original champion of Harrisburg Republicans’ audit — an audit that now is putting 9 million Pennsylvanians’ private information at risk on behalf of the Big Lie.
- Mastriano recently signed a letter urging all 50 states to conduct forensic audits and for states to be prepared to decertify election results.
- Mastriano supports draconian abortion bans, including Texas’ extreme and unpopular ban. He even praised Texas’ ban as “great news” and said he was “obviously very excited and happy about” it.
- Mastriano is an anti-choice extremist with a long record of attacking women’s health — in the state Senate, Mastriano co-sponsored legislation that would effectively ban abortion after 6 weeks, with no “exemptions to the law for cases involving incest or rape.”
- Mastriano has spent the COVID-19 pandemic repeatedly sharing debunked vaccine conspiracy theories and anti-vaxxer lies. Mastriano also disgustingly compared vaccination efforts to the Holocaust.
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