(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Shapiro won his bid for a second term on Tuesday, fending off a challenge from State Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
The Associated Press called the race for Shapiro shortly after polls closed on Tuesday evening. As of 8:08 p.m., he held a 83% to 15% lead with under 5% of the votes counted.
“Tonight marks the beginning of a new chapter for our Commonwealth and our country,” Shapiro wrote on social media. He’s expected to deliver remarks shortly.
Shapiro, a Montgomery County Democrat, was first elected governor in 2022 after twice serving as the state’s Attorney General.
From the onset of his bid for a second term as governor, Shapiro was widely viewed as the favorite to win reelection.
Polling throughout this cycle consistently showed Shapiro leading by double digits in nearly every poll over the past few months. The Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections, a trio of national ratings outlets, describe the race as “Solid Democratic.”
Also, Shapiro significantly outraised and outspent Garrity throughout the cycle.
During his campaign, Shapiro made winning a trifecta a key part of his bid for a second term. Shapiro said that if he secured a second term and Democrats won a majority in the state House and Senate for the first time in over three decades, he would raise the state’s minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, sign bills to constitutionalize abortion rights, give victims of sexual abuse the opportunity to confront their abusers in court, invest in mass transit across the state, and build more housing.
On the campaign trail, Garrity, a military veteran and businesswoman, touted her roots from rural Pennsylvania and record as State Treasurer.
In her pitch to voters, she discussed her goal of growing the economy by lifting a moratorium on drilling on public lands, which she believes would create jobs and generate revenue needed to address the state’s structural deficit, tackle electric bills by getting rid of the gross receipts tax, ending “some of the mandates of green energy,” and revisiting property tax reform.
“What does his administration believe in,” Garrity said in Bucks County during her campaign’s final rally. “More government, more spending, more regulations, more mandates.”
She’d also accuse Shapiro of being someone who was “more interested in Pennsylvania Avenue” than helping Pennsylvania families.
For Shapiro’s part, he’d often link Garrity to President Donald Trump’s agenda.
“I don’t think we need a rubber stamp for Donald Trump in the governor’s office. I don’t think we need an election denier in the governor’s office,” Shapiro said during a rally in Luzerne County on Wednesday. “I don’t think we need someone who called those who stormed the Capitol on January 6th patriots in the governor’s office. And I sure as hell don’t think we need someone in the governor’s office who, in 2028, when we got to certify the will of the people as to who the next president will be, I don’t think we need someone who’s going to take her cues from Donald Trump.”
“We need someone who’s going to listen to the people,” he continued. “We don’t need a rubber stamp for Donald Trump in the governor’s office.”
Trump carried Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes in 2024, however, recent polling indicates that he is not popular in the Keystone State.
Although Trump wasn’t on the ballot in Pennsylvania and he wasn’t actively campaigning in the state in the final weeks before the midterm election, he still would tout his support for Garrity on social media.
On Tuesday afternoon, Trump took to social media urging Pennsylvanians to vote for her, calling her a “successful business woman” and “true America First patriot who has been with me since the beginning.”
He went on to describe Shapiro as “radical, reckless and dangerous.”
With regard to Shapiro’s goals for achieving a trifecta, it remains to be seen. As of 8:15 p.m., it is not clear what the makeup of the Pennsylvania General Assembly will be in 2027.
In total for the 2026 election cycle, Shapiro invested over $10 million into the effort to elect down-ballot Democrats. The Shapiro campaign said that it is the largest investment in the party by a candidate in Pennsylvania history.
Of that $10 million, more than $7 million to the Pennsylvania Democratic Party and the “Rise Up Pennsylvania” initiative. $1,000,000 was invested to the PA HDCC and $2,000,000 to the PA SDCC.
Shapiro’s win on Tuesday is his fourth victory for statewide office.
The first time he was on the statewide ballot, in 2016, Shapiro was elected Pennsylvania Attorney General, defeating Republican John Rafferty. That same year, Trump defeated U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
In 2020, Shapiro broke a statewide record for most votes received in an election in his successful bid for a second term. That record was broken by Garrity in 2024 during her victory over Democrat Erin McClelland for a second term as State Treasurer.
As of 8:15 p.m., it is not clear if he will break that record previously held by Garrity.
Not long after this successful race, chatter began that he would want to seek the governor’s office after former Gov. Tom Wolf’s term ended.
Since winning the race in 2022, reports have circulated that Shapiro could be interested in running for president in the future.
In the final days of the campaign, at various rallies, Shapiro didn’t address Garrity by name and instead would link her to Trump and his record.
During his 2026 bid for governor, Shapiro refused to commit to serving out his term, saying he was focused on winning a second term. This response further intensified speculation that his sights may be set on the Oval Office in 2028.
Following his victory on Tuesday, he’ll likely use his undefeated record in statewide elections in the nation’s biggest swing state, should he seek higher office.
