FILE - Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity arrives for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's Inauguration, Jan. 17, 2023, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
GOP Treasurer Stacy Garrity launches 2026 bid for governor
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Jaxon White/WITF
Matt Rourke / AP Photo
FILE - Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity arrives for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's Inauguration, Jan. 17, 2023, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. on Aug. 18 to include comments from the Democratic Governors Association and state Sen. Doug Mastriano.
Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity launched her 2026 gubernatorial campaign Monday, bidding to deny Democratic incumbent Josh Shapiro a second term.
Garrity, 61, is the top choice of the Pennsylvania GOP and is a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump.
“When I enlisted to serve in the military, I took a solemn oath to defend our country and honor her principles. And I worked very hard to live up to that commitment,” Garrity said in a video announcing her candidacy Monday. Today, I’m announcing that I’m running to become Pennsylvania’s next governor.”
She then jabbed at Shapiro’s leadership of the state, saying she gave viewers her “solemn oath that I will work hard every day to fix the problems Josh Shapiro has created.”
Garrity, term-limited in her current role, is a retired Army Reserve colonel. She has served as state treasurer since defeating Democrat Joe Torsella in 2020 for the seat.
Garrity was reelected in 2024 with more than 3.5 million votes — the most in Pennsylvania history for a statewide candidate. Shapiro, 52, held the previous record for his 2020 victory for state attorney general.
Garrity has publicly weighed a potential bid for governor over the summer, teasing an announcement on social media on Aug. 11 that heavily criticized Shapiro over missed state budget deadlines and appearances on “liberal” talk shows.
“Help is on the way,” Garrity wrote. “Stay tuned.”
Her candidacy — the first, formally, of any Republican — sets the stage for a closely watched contest in a politically divided state.
Izzy Levy, a spokesperson for the Democratic Governors Association, criticized Garrity for her support of the congressional Republicans’ tax and spending cuts bill passed earlier this summer.
“Whether it’s Stacy Garrity or another flawed and extreme candidate who emerges to challenge Governor Shapiro, Republicans’ eventual nominee has an uphill battle to take on the Governor’s strong record of working across party lines to cut costs, invest in public safety, fund public education, and deliver for all Pennsylvanians,” Levy said.
Contested primary
Many of the state’s top Republicans, including Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, of Westmoreland County, have already said Garrity would be a good choice for the party’s nomination.
But Garrity will face a highly popular sitting governor with one of the most visible national profiles Pennsylvania has seen in decades. During the 2024 presidential race, Shapiro was among Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates.
Shapiro also bested his prior Republican opponent, Doug Mastriano, a state senator who has all but announced his own gubernatorial bid on social media in recent months, by nearly 15 percentage points.
During a livestream on social media Monday morning, Mastriano told a caller that he had not yet decided whether he’d enter the race.
“I’d love to have her as my lieutenant governor,” Mastriano said of Garrity.
Mastriano also criticized the state GOP for announcing it would endorse its gubernatorial candidate earlier than it has in the past. By choosing in September, Mastriano said the party was trying to “ice out” his candidacy and any other Republicans from seeking the nomination.
Pennsylvania has never elected a woman as a governor or U.S. senator. Voters have not chosen a GOP candidate for the state’s chief executive job since Tom Corbett in 2010.
Garrity’s past campaigns employed several powerful GOP consulting firms including Pittsburgh-based ColdSpark, which previously worked on campaigns for U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick and U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler.
‘Angel of the Desert’
Garrity has defined much of her career by her military service — she earned two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit through her three deployments overseas. She served in Operation Desert Storm, in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in Operation Enduring Freedom.
According to a 2004 NPR story, she was nicknamed “The Angel of the Desert” for her humane treatment of detainees at an Iraqi detention camp.
She later worked at Global Tungsten & Powders Corp., a manufacturing company in Bradford County, where she served as its vice president before leaving the company after her 2020 election win.
As treasurer, Garrity manages more than $160 billion in state dollars. Her office has prioritized returning unclaimed property across the state in recent years, potentially enhancing her statewide recognition.
Some Democrats criticized her decision to invest more state money into Israel Bonds after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack committed against the country by Hamas, triggering the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Garrity publicly supported the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022 and has remained an anti-abortion advocate.
She’s faced backlash for casting doubt on the results of the 2020 election at a rally outside the U.S. Capitol held one day before the Jan. 6 riots in Washington, D.C. Garrity said from the stage: “The election from this November is tarnished forever.”
Last year, during her reelection bid, her campaign attempted to rescind that comment in an interview with the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.
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