Jake Corman, the top Republican in the Pennsylvania State Senate, ended his campaign for governor on Thursday and threw his support behind Lou Barletta, the former mayor and a former member of Congress currently running second in most polling.
The endorsement by Mr. Corman represents the starkest step yet for Republicans in the state who are trying to coalesce support behind one candidate in an effort to halt the current front-runner, Doug Mastriano, a freshmen state senator, before the state’s primary on Tuesday.
Mr. Mastriano, who burnished his image with the right-wing base by aggressively pursuing and promoting false claims about the 2020 election, has comfortably led in most polls in the state, but has rarely crested 30 percent within the large Republican primary field. He has made false election claims central to his platform, and has staked out far-right policy positions such as banning transgender bathrooms.
Yet Republican operatives in the state are concerned about Mr. Mastriano’s prospects in a potential general election matchup against Josh Shapiro, the current attorney general and the likely Democratic nominee. They view Mr. Mastriano’s closeness to the effort to overturn the 2020 election results as a likely drag on his candidacy and the party as a whole. In recent days, several of Mr. Mastriano’s Republican rivals have been gathering on private conference calls in a last-minute attempt to stop him.
“I think the right thing is to coalesce,” Mr. Corman said of...
“When companies use kickbacks to influence prescribing, they erode trust in healthcare providers,” said special agent Helsing. Takeda Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A. Inc has agreed to $13,670,921 amid alle...