Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) announced on Monday that she is entering Pennsylvania’s 2026 gubernatorial race, running as a Republican against Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).
In a video posted to X, Garrity vowed to “work hard every day to fix the problems” Shapiro has created. Garrity’s video also highlighted how she had served three deployments in Iraq and reached the rank of Colonel, while criticizing Shapiro for spending more time focused on running for president instead of helping the state.
“I’m Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity,” Garrity says in the video. “When I enlisted to serve in the military, I took a solemn oath to defend our country and to honor her principles, and I worked very hard to live up to that commitment.”
“Today, I’m announcing that I’m running to become Pennsylvania’s next governor, and I’m giving you and your family my solemn oath that I will work hard every day to fix the problems Josh Shapiro has created,” Garrity adds in the video.
A narrator then adds that while Shapiro “has been spending his time running for president” and fundraising in states such as California, problems in Pennsylvania “have been ignored.”
Shapiro was also criticized for failing to “get the state budget done on time,” which could lead to schools in the state not receiving the funding they need.
As the Pennsylvania state budget is “nearly seven weeks past the deadline,” the state’s payments for services such as “child welfare enforcement” and “senior citizen care” are described as being “effectively on hold,” according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
Per the outlet:
According to reporting by Spotlight PA, more than $2.5 billion in state payments for education and human services will be delayed in the coming weeks if lawmakers don’t come to an agreement.
“We’re hearing somewhere around the middle of next month as being the time some counties may run out of those reserves,” said Kyle Kopko, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. “Some may be before that. Some may be after. There’s going to be a lot of these human services that they’re mandated to provide, and if that’s the case, county commissioners are going to have to start looking at where they can move that money around.”
“To know just how much of a failure Josh Shapiro has been, all you need to do is look at the facts,” Garrity says. “U.S. News and World Report now ranks Pennsylvania near the very bottom on our economy, education in our classrooms, and our state’s infrastructure.”
Garrity’s announcement of running for governor of Pennsylvania comes as Shapiro, who has talked about a potential 2028 presidential bid, has received criticism for failing to keep campaign promises regarding school choice. In an opinion article for the Wall Street Journal from April, Rachel Langan noted that while Shapiro was campaigning in 2022, he had “promised to pass Lifeline Scholarships,” which would “give low-income children in failing public schools between $5,000 and $10,000 to pay for safe and high-quality private schools.”
However, Shapiro was reported as not having signed Lifeline Scholarships into law:
While campaigning in 2022, Mr. Shapiro promised to pass Lifeline Scholarships. The scholarships would give low-income children in failing public schools between $5,000 and $10,000 to pay for safe and high-quality private schools. In these failing public schools, only 10% of students are proficient in math, and only 33% are proficient in English. In Hazleton, six of the seven public schools are failing academically, with the last one not far behind.
But Mr. Shapiro still hasn’t signed Lifeline Scholarships into law. While the Republican-controlled state Senate is on board, the leaders of the narrowly held Democratic majority in the House have balked. As the leader of their party and the state’s chief executive, Mr. Shapiro could use his bully pulpit to pressure his fellow Democrats. Instead, he has caved at the first sign of disagreement. Despite continuing to mention the scholarships, including calling them “unfinished business” in 2024, the governor hasn’t lifted a finger to keep the promise that helped sweep him into the state’s highest office.
Garrity’s campaign video also notes that as Pennsylvania State Treasurer, Garrity “has made ethics in her office and full transparency a top priority.”
“Stacy has exposed millions of dollars in fraud and inefficiency, and returned over $1 billion directly to taxpayers,” a narrator continues. “Stacy Garrity is also a strong ally of President Trump, and like the president, supports protecting healthcare and welfare benefits for vulnerable Americans, while requiring able-bodied recipients to work for their benefits and ending benefits for those here illegally.”
Democrats have criticized Garrity for supporting President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, and celebrating the Supreme Court overruling Roe v. Wade, returning the issue of abortion laws back to the states, according to Politico.
Izzi Levy, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, described Garrity as being “as extreme as they come,” adding that Garrity “can’t be trusted to stand up for Pennsylvanians.”
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