feature story
A Look at
JOSH SHAPIRO’S
JARR AD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
T hey sipped beers, ate ice cream and held
lively conversations around high-rise
tables. Th ey smiled; they laughed; they
even danced to the party playlist blaring
overhead. Some people stood on the balls of
their feet and watched CNN on one of the
many screens set up around Th e Greater
Philadelphia Expo Center.

But for the most part, the hundreds of
supporters of Jewish Democrat Josh Shapiro
knew what their result would be on Nov. 8.

Josh Shapiro addresses the crowd at his election night victory
Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, an
party at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks.

Abington resident and a member of the Beth
Sholom Congregation in Elkins Park, would
become the commonwealth’s next governor.

Doug Mastriano. Th e Republican, a state senator who
“Th is is a great experience for anyone who’s here denied Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 U.S. pres-
tonight,” said Scott Holloman, 42, of Harleysville. “I idential election and participated in the Jan. 6, 2021
storming of the U.S. Capitol Building, took a full fi ve
have 100% faith that Josh will win.”
It happened around 11:15 p.m. On a big screen to days to concede. But that almost seemed beside the
the left of the stage in the Oaks, Montgomery County point. Th e Democrat leads by almost 15% and more
venue, CNN showed a graphic declaring Shapiro the than 700,000 votes with 98% of the vote counted.

winner. It seemed beside the point on Nov. 8 at the Expo
As media outlets called the race throughout the 10 Center, too. Aft er Shapiro’s running mate Austin
o’clock hour on social media, supporters moved from Davis addressed the crowd, the governor-elect walked
their high-rise tables in one room to the area in front onto the stage, waved to the people and smiled. Th en
of the stage in the next room. Once CNN called the he stepped to the podium.

“Rural, urban, suburban folks across this common-
race, attendees hollered and held up their “Shapiro
wealth, who I’ve had the opportunity to talk with,
for Governor” signs.

Shapiro, 49, had defeated his Republican opponent you know they basically all want the same thing,”
16 NOVEMBER 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Shapiro said. “Th ey want a real opportunity
for good schools, safe communities and an
economy that just gives everybody a shot.”
Th e crowd clapped and hollered.

“We showed in this campaign that no
matter what you look like, where you come
from, who you love, or who you pray to, you
are valued here in Pennsylvania!” Shapiro
continued. “And we hear you!”
Th e supporters cheered in unison.

“And I can stand before you tonight, thanks
to all of you, in the birthplace of our democ-
racy, in the cradle of liberty, and look you in
the eye and say, ‘Because of you, our democ-
racy endures,’” Shapiro said later on.

Two years ago, Shapiro, in his role as attor-
ney general, defended Pennsylvania’s election process
from Trump’s lawsuits that attempted to overturn
President Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Mastriano,
in his role as a state senator, allied himself with
Trump and tried to pass a resolution that would have
allowed the state legislature to reject the result of the
vote and appoint delegates to the Electoral College.

As Mastriano himself wrote on his state Senate
website, “For the legislature to pass the resolution,
Governor (Tom) Wolf needed to call a special session
and he refused.”
During his campaign, the Republican said that as
governor, “I could decertify every (voting) machine
in the state with the stroke of a pen.” And the stroke
of Mastriano’s pen likely would have mattered a
Photos by Jarrad Saff ren
Election Night Victory Party