“It’s funny, he did a tweet the other day,” Mastriano said. “He said ‘we need to do something about crime’ — and I’m like, ‘dude, you’re the Attorney General. Are you kidding me?’”

He got big laughs from the crowd of about 150 people.

Whenever he mentioned the word “vaccine,” the crowd booed and laughed. One man in the audience shouted “not a chance!” when Mastriano mentioned the updated COVID-19 vaccine.

Mastriano also spent some time talking about social issues, such as race and gender. He vowed to ban critical race theory from schools, and end “pronoun games” in classrooms, referring to transgender issues. He said he would make it illegal for minors to undergo a gender transition.

He also doubled down on his anti-abortion stance, saying it is a “woman’s right to be born.”

Mastriano also said he wants to “turn Pennsylvania into the Florida of the North.”

There was no opportunity to ask or submit questions to Mastriano, and no campaign staff would speak on record. Journalists were not allowed to be unsupervised in the building at any point—even to go to the bathroom, where escorts would wait outside the door.

Swaying conservatives on the fence

Courtney Miller, vice president at Shively’s Moving and Storage in Bethlehem, was in attendance with her mother, Mona Chipman. They both identified as conservative Republicans who plan to vote for Mastriano.

Julian Abraham / LehighValleyNews.com

Doug Mastriano speaks in front of a sign that reads “RESTORE FREEDOM,” his campaign’s tagline.

“I think he’s a very genuine, sincere individual and I stand I agree with what he said. So I’m in support of him,” Miller said.

Miller said at first, she was intimidated by some of Mastriano’s views, but eventually came around for what she said are mostly practical reasons.

“I mean, being on the front lines here seeing how it’s impacting our employees, the inflation and the government mandates and regulations. It’s important,” said Miller.

“It’s hitting home,” Miller added. “It’s hitting home.”