His campaign paid for and ran
a television ad promoting Doug
Mastriano as the Republican candi-
date for governor of Pennsylvania.

Mastriano is a QAnon supporter and
Jan. 6 insurrectionist who in April
spoke at a conference that promoted
conspiracy theories. One alleged that
Adolf Hitler faked his death, accord-
ing to a Philadelphia Inquirer story
from that month.

Shapiro wants to run against
Mastriano. So, like a true politician, the
attorney general promoted Mastriano’s
primary campaign and perhaps helped
him win. Then, in a campaign email to
supporters, the AG called Mastriano
a “dangerous extremist who wants to
take away our freedoms” and “restrict
the right to vote.”
It is surely not lost on Shapiro that,
thanks in part to his own ad, this
“dangerous extremist” now has a much
better chance, about 50-50, to impose
his agenda on Pennsylvanians across
the Commonwealth.

Politicians. They will always politi-
cian. Now let’s get to the rest of the results
involving local Jewish candidates.

The Republican Primary for PA’s
Open U.S. Senate Seat
Incumbent U.S. Senator for
Pennsylvania Pat Toomey, a Republican,
is retiring from his seat after two terms.

Toomey, who voted to impeach former
President Donald Trump after the Jan.

6, 2021 insurrection, is on the record as
an enemy of the GOP’s kingmaker.

In this battle to replace Toomey
as the Republican nominee, Jewish
Montgomery County resident Jeff
Bartos joined the crowded field. While
the race may be headed for a recount,
Bartos is not a competitor for the top
spot. Mehmet Oz, Dave McCormick
and Kathy Barnette all got more than
300,000 votes in the first count, with
Oz, Trump’s preferred candidate, ahead
by a small margin. Bartos received
fewer than 70,000 votes.

The Democratic Primary for
Pennsylvania’s 182nd State House Seat
This very blue district’s represen-
tative, Brian Sims, is running for
lieutenant governor, leaving his seat
open. Four candidates, Ben Waxman,
Jonathan Lovitz, Will Gross and Deja
Alvarez, vied to replace him. Three,
Waxman, Lovitz and Gross, are Jewish.

But it was Waxman who came out
on top with more than 5,000 votes
and 40% of the total. The Center City
resident had party support and the
endorsement of Philadelphia District
Attorney Larry Krasner.

Lovitz finished second with more
than 2,700 votes and 20% support.

Gross placed fourth, five votes behind
Alvarez. “It just feels good to have your
friends and neighbors support you,”
Waxman said.

Waxman, who used to work for
Krasner as a communications staffer,
acknowledged that he is likely to win
the general election this fall. But he
still hopes to increase turnout on the
Democratic side and help Shapiro beat
Mastriano. The longtime political activist said
he’s given more money to Shapiro than
“I’ve given any politician ever.”
“I am petrified of Mastriano,”
Waxman added. “He represents a clear
and present danger, and he is mobiliz-
ing the far right.”
The Democratic primaries for PA
House seats in two Bucks County
districts Plumstead Township resident
Gwen Stoltz, 47, and Holland resident
Ilya Breyman, 37, ran unopposed in
Democratic primaries for Pennsylvania
House seats in districts 143 and 178,
respectively. Stoltz will run against Republican
incumbent Shelby Labs in the fall, who
she claims is not responsive to con-
stituents in her Central and Upper
Bucks County territory. Breyman
will face Republican Kristin Marcell
in November. The GOP incumbent in
Breyman’s district, Wendi Thomas, is
not running for reelection.

Both Jewish candidates are seeking
their first terms in the Pennsylvania
General Assembly.

Democratic and Republican pri-
maries for nominations in PA’s 7th
Congressional District
Jewish Democrat Susan Wild holds
the seat representing the Lehigh Valley
in the U.S. House. She ran unopposed
in the primary and will seek her third
term in November.

Jewish Republican Lisa Scheller, the
chair and president of her family’s
Silberline Manufacturing Co., is now
running against Wild for the second
consecutive cycle. Scheller defeated fel-
low Republican Kevin Dellicker by less
than 2,000 votes in the May 17 election.

She lost to Wild by about 14,000 votes
in 2020. JE
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