Gov. Josh Shapiro defeats Stacy Garrity in Pennsylvania's governor race, CBS News projects
Gov. Josh Shapiro defeated Stacy Garrity in Pennsylvania's gubernatorial race on Tuesday night, CBS News projects.
Josh Shapiro and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, have been elected to a second term. Stacy Garrity, the state's treasurer, and her running mate, Jason Richey, were looking to flip the governor's office into GOP control. Garrity was endorsed by President Trump.
"I could not be more humble and grateful for the opportunity to keep serving our commonwealth," Shapiro said while declaring victory. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the trust and the confidence. I just got off the phone with Stacy Garrity, who wished me well and said she wants to work together to serve the people of Pennsylvania. Look, we have plenty of disagreements. That's part of a healthy democracy and I appreciate her service to our commonwealth and our country."
CBS News projected Shapiro to win just minutes after the polls closed.
"I called the governor and I spoke with him and I congratulated him on his hard-fought victory," Garrity told her supporters while conceding defeat on Tuesday night. "And while today's results are not what any of us have hoped, I stand before you tonight with a heart full of gratitude and thanks."
At a rally in Pittsburgh late last month, Shapiro, who is considered a potential contender for the White House in 2028, used the setting of a union hall to highlight his labor support, speaking about issues like the ongoing war in Iran, ICE and reproductive freedom.
Garrity hammered Shapiro late last month on the state's decision about skill games, allowing the deadline to come and go without a resolution that would've kept games in businesses that held them for years.
The rapid development of data centers throughout Pennsylvania communities has also been a topic of contention among voters and political candidates ahead of Election Day. During a gubernatorial debate in early October, data centers were one of many topics discussed by the two candidates.
Once a supporter of data centers, Shapiro is now chastising developers as bullies and signed an executive order, saying he's instituting the strongest safeguards in America. His campaign is accusing Garrity of having favored unregulated development.
Meanwhile, Garrity's former support of data centers has chilled to the point of her calling for a moratorium on their development. She calls the governor their "biggest cheerleader" and is demanding he return $5 million in campaign contributions from artificial intelligence interests.
The gubernatorial race took an AI turn last month when an AI-generated ad by Garrity's campaign joined a handful of others around the country in major races. The ad used an AI-generated likeness of Shapiro and made references to a sexual harassment complaint that was made against an aide to the governor, not Shapiro himself.
When pressed on whether she knew about the process of making the ad and if she approved it, Garrity stood by the ad and the use of artificial intelligence.
Both candidates have been outspoken in different ways about Pennsylvania's ongoing measles outbreak.
As CDC officials began to acknowledge measles-associated deaths in the state, Shapiro clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Trump administration appointee with a history of raising alarms about established vaccines.
Garrity was critical of Shapiro's handling of the situation, saying he ran to a camera before he had all the facts.
