Olivia Heilemann
News Editor
On Nov 8, 2022, the Pennsylvania Election was held, and millions of people arrived at the polls to cast their ballots. The majority voted in favor of the Democratic Party.
As a result of the 2022 Pennsylvania Governor race, Democrat Josh Shapiro won the title of Governor over his opponent Doug Mastriano of the Republican party with 56.3% in votes. Mastriano won 41.9% of the votes while Libertarian Matt Hackenburg finished with 1%.
Josh Shapiro, previously serving as Pennsylvania’s attorney general, will succeed Tom Wolf’s title as Governor as his four-year term comes to an end. Included in his $44 million campaign, Shapiro speaks on issues regarding reproductive rights, voting rights, minimum wage increase and abolishment of the death penalty. These views strongly opposed Mastriano’s conservative beliefs.
Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate in the Gubernatorial Election, is a retired United States Army colonel and state senator. Mastriano was signed by former President Donald Trump and heavily stated his ideas of establishing anti-abortion policies, violent crime control and border control. He wanted to abolish mask and vaccine requirements following the COVID-19 pandemic as well. Mastriano also advocates for election fraud and voices his belief that the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen, resulting in Joe Biden’s victory. He was reported to be at the storming of the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.
Along with Josh Shapiro, Democrat John Fetterman won the United States Senate seat for Pennsylvania, claiming victory over Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz with 51% of the votes over Oz’s 46.6%. Libertarian Erik Gerhardt finished with just 1.4% of the votes.
Just days before his Democratic nomination for the election, John Fetterman suffered from a stroke, changing his campaign. Following his recovery, he had some difficulty speaking and hearing, but he was determined to follow through with his campaign and mentioned that this concern would not affect his ability to serve in the Senate.
Fetterman was the 34th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, and was also previously Mayor of Braddock. He ran for state Senate in 2016 and is the first Democrat to win the Senate seat since 1962 when Joseph S. Clark, Jr. took the seat for a second term.
Fetterman is a known advocate for the right of healthcare, criminal justice reform, the legalization of cannabis and minimum wage increase alongside Shapiro.
Additionally, the election for the House resulted in nine Democratic seats and eight Republican seats.
Pennsylvania included, the states that held elections collectively resulted in 17 Democrat Governors, and 17 Republican Governors. In regards to the U.S. Senate, there are now 20 Republican seats, and 14 Democrat seats.
Fetterman will take his position on Jan 3, 2023, and Shapiro will assume office on Jan 17, 2023.
