Daily News | A major GOP group is ditching Bill McSwain, joining a last-ditch effort to help Lou Barletta stop Doug Mastriano
boosting his candidacy. On Sunday, the group called on McSwain and another GOP gubernatorial hopeful, former Delaware County Councilman Dave White, to withdraw from the race and endorse Barletta in Tuesday’s primary election.
“It’s become abundantly clear in recent days that nominating Lou Barletta for governor is Republicans’ best chance to defeat Josh Shapiro in November,” Commonwealth Partners president and CEO Matt Brouillette said in a statement. Shapiro, the state attorney general, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.
“Months ago, Commonwealth Partners began cautioning of the dangers of nominating Doug Mastriano, as he would not be able to win the swing voters necessary to win in November,” Brouillette said. “Unfortunately, although Mastriano is garnering support from less than 30% of likely primary voters, given the large field of candidates, this could be enough to secure him the nomination,” Brouillette said.Scores of current and former Republican elected officials have rallied behind Barletta over the last week, as some in the party argued that Mastriano would march to the nomination absent a major campaign shakeup.