Doug Mastriano, who is struggling to raise money and get support for his bid to become governor of Pennsylvania, has turned to a new strategy: 40 days of prayer and fasting.
The GOP candidate, Mr. Mastriano, reminded supporters of the Thursday start on Facebook late on Wednesday. Tomorrow morning is the beginning of our 40 days of prayer and fasting. Please think about coming with us,” he wrote.
The state senator made the pitch as he battles to defeat his Democratic rival, Attorney General Josh Shapiro, before election day. In several polls, Mr. Mastriano is down by double digits; nonetheless, the Real Clear Polling average gives Mr. Shapiro a 9.3-point advantage.
Fewer than a dozen of the Republican’s supporters attended a rally he recently staged at the Harrisburg Capitol, and because of his inability to raise money, Pennsylvanians are mostly exposed to pro-Shapiro and anti-Mastriano ads on television.
After eight years of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, Republicans would be able to retake the governor’s office and chart a new direction for the state since they have the majority in the state legislature.
After being attacked for weeks for views that have been labeled as “Christian nationalism” or extremely far to the right of the mainstream, including his 2019 comments that women should be prosecuted with murder if they disobeyed his proposed abortion ban, Mr. Mastriano is now having difficulty.
The Philadelphia Inquirer was informed by groups airing commercials against Mr. Shapiro that they were concerned about Mr. Mastriano’s general election performance during the GOP primary. The leader of a pro-business organization called Commonwealth Partners, Matt Brouillette, told the newspaper, “I haven’t seen anything to suggest we were incorrect in our evaluation.”
In response, the Mastriano campaign has retweeted statements made by conservatives who claim that the GOP establishment turned on him and abandoned him. It also included a Phillips Academy Poll, which indicated that the contest was really closer than anticipated, with Mr. Mastriano trailing by about 3 points.
Additionally, he said that Mr. Shapiro had failed to control the state’s out-of-control crime in Philadelphia and other regions. He is currently requesting that his followers fast and pray with him in the days leading up to November 8.
While some users indicated they were already praying for the initiative, others asked additional information, such as the length of the fast.
I do pray that you would turn the Commonwealth over to the Lord and be covered in Jesus’ blood as Virginia was the previous year, said one commentator.
