While the field of candidates is still forming for Pennsylvania Republicans in the 2022 Governor’s race, PoliticsPA readers believe that a Luzerne County Congressman should be the GOP party’s nominee in the statewide contest.
With 60,212 votes casted, 35% of PoliticsPA readers say that Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Luzerne) should be the Republican Party’s nominee for Governor in 2022. Meuser hasn’t declared a bid for the office, but has reportedly been mulling a run for the office for months.
Charlie Gerow, CEO of Quantum Communications and Vice Chairman of CPAC and state Sen. Scott Martin (R-Lancaster) finished in second and third place respectively. Gerow and Martin both tallied 15% of the vote, but Gerow secured 9,229 votes, while Martin received 8,806 votes.
Gerow formally entered the GOP race in June, while Martin launched an exploratory committee last month.
State Sen. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) finished in fourth place in the poll by securing 11% of the vote. Laughlin launched an exploratory committee last month.
Jason Richey, an Allegheny County resident and partner at Pittsburgh’s K&L Gates law firm, finished in fifth place by receiving 9% of the vote. Richey announced his candidacy for the office in May.
Former Congressman Lou Barletta, who announced his candidacy for the office in May, finished in sixth place by tallying 8% of the vote.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin) finished in seventh place in the poll by earning 4% of the vote. Mastriano has not formally declared a run for the office, but has reportedly been weighing a bid for the statewide office for months.
Former U.S. Attorney Bill McSwain finished in eighth place in the poll by receiving 1% of the vote. McSwain hasn’t formally announced his entrance into the race, but launched a PAC in March, which continued to fuel speculation about his interest in the statewide office.
Dr. Nche Zama, Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, and former Corry Mayor Jason Monn, finished in ninth, tenth, and eleventh places respectively. Zama earned 195 votes, while Gale received 116 votes, and Monn tallied 76 votes.
Gale, Monn, and Zama have all formally announced their candidacy for the 2022 race.
1% of PoliticsPA readers believe that someone else should be the nominee as opposed to the 11 candidates listed.
Reader Poll: Who Should Republicans Nominate for Governor in 2022?
- Dan Meuser (35%)
- Charlie Gerow (15%)
- Scott Martin (15%)
- Dan Laughlin (11%)
- Jason Richey (9%)
- Lou Barletta (8%)
- Doug Mastriano (4%)
- Someone Else (1%)
- Bill McSwain (1%)
- Nche Zama (0%)
- Joe Gale (0%)
- Jason Monn (0%)
Total Voters: 60,212
32 Responses
Looks like they only polled Meuser’s side ladies? Thank god the other 150 can’t read!
I will proudly be casting my vote for Charlie Gerow — we need an experienced communicator to bring our message of freedom to voters across Pennsylvania!
Paid for by Friends of Charlie Gerow
Charlie will be a breath of fresh air in next year’s primary. As a young voter I want a fighter- Charlie knows how to fight and win!
Paid for by Friends of Charlie Gerow
As noted, Shapiro is the presumptive Democrat nominee but he comes with some vulnerabilities. Wolf “fatigue” is real and western Pa will be a desert for him outside of Allegheny County. Ominously for him, the office of Attorney General has produced only one governor in the last 50 years –and that governor’s tenure in office was brief and tumultuous.
Shapiro’s vulnerability however notwithstanding — if Republicans nominate a Trump clone or Trump wannabee– he will make Shapiro look like a giant killer.
This is the critical dilemma the GOP must resolve. The vast number of voters who will show up for the primary will be strong Trump supporters, ready and willing to nominate a Trump surrogate. But such a candidate will not win the PA general electorate unless he can move closer to the center than he ran in the primary. This not so incidentally is the formula used by successful GOP candidates from Scranton to Thornburg in PA for generations: run right in the primary but not so far right one can’t slip back toward the center for the General Election.
Only a couple of the prospective candidates featured in the present poll might be able to pull that off. Dan Laughlin and Charlie Gerow are notable among them. But both of them are likely to be overlooked in a Trump dominated field. Moreover, for various reasons, some addressed in the earlier comments, both Laughlin and Gerow will confront steep challenges to launch viable candidacies.
Nevertheless, they or candidates very like them represent the best chance for Pa Republicans to win in 2022. The party is at a crossroads, one where no U turns are going to be permitted for quite a while down the road
It will be hard for a Republican candidate of whatever background to win the Governor’s race, especially given the financing Shapiro will have. It will be especially hard for a Republican legislator, either from the Congress or the General
Assembly, to win the suburban voters of Greater Philadelphia, likely where the real battle will be fought. This is because of their voting records.
There will be a burden from having supported former President Trump, although that will likely be a big plus in the primary. We Republicans are in for a tough battle.
HAC
Audit-proof of fraud would hurt Josh.
Exposing the Catholic Church child abuse and brokering an agreement with Highmark and UPMC will carry the day no matter who the R’s come up with.
I just can’t understand these Republicans. Tim Murphy should be everyone’s 1st choice. Just 1 “minor” indiscretion and he has to leave office. He always made every pro-lifers top of the list for abortion. So he told his mistress to get an abortion. You would, too, if it would ruin your career. Besides he was 62 and she was 32. Wow…heck of a man!!
Charlie has my vote! Lets take down Shapiro!
Paid for by Friends of Charlie Gerow
Paid for by sore losers.
Lets go Charlie! A strong voice for Pennsylvania values with a strong record of working bipartisan. Charlie would be the perfect candidate to beat Josh Shapiro. This is going to be an interesting race to watch!
I agree. It’s about time we have a Governor that likes to confirm his past opinions and hear his own voice! Vote Charlie for Governor!
Paid for by Friends of Charlie Gerow
Idiots, Meuser is NOT even running. He already announced that. This poll is just his people trying to give him credibility. It’s not working Dan. Barletta will be the endorsed candidate. You can all take that to the bank. It’s already a done deal for those of you that don’t have a clue how this game is played.
The poll has become a fantasy camp for Harrisburg insiders with a lot of free time on their hands. Gerow has zero chance of winning and his fans posting here are trying to give the impression he is the greatest thing since the Beatles. Lou has got statewide support and has ran statewide and unless these Harrisburg insiders are going to self fund a race for Gov this is nothing but a fantasy camp experience.
I’m no “insider” and don’t live in Harrisburg but I understand why Charlie Gerow’s “fans” are excited about his candidacy. He’s got the vision personality and energy to beat Josh Shapiro. Your man Lou lost to sleepy Bob Casey by a huge margin!
Because PA is a deep RED Conservative state? What are you talking about?
It’s nice to see a solid conservative and a great communicator like Charlie Gerow near the top of this list. He is someone who can beat Josh Shapiro and win back the Governor’s Mansion!
Paid for by Friends of Charlie Gerow
Yep, Barletta is stupid as can be. But if Meuser is a GOP Congressman who votes not to investigate 1/6 or to pass voting reform to stop voter repression, he is not who PA needs. If Trump likes him, that’s even worse.
Ding Dong Doug’s shine is fading fast. He’s a nut job that should never have been elected to anything.
While all poll choices are respectable, I’m glad to see such a level headed leader (Dan Meuser) was selected as the suggested potential occupant GOP of the Governor’s mansion!
Zama !
If you finished below the “Someone Else” option you’re just a vanity candidate. Plain and simple.
Agreed! Any candidate below “None of the above” can’t be taken seriously. McSwain 1%, Zama 0%, Gale 0% and Monn 0% shouldn’t be included in these polls. Like you said, they are just vanity candidates.
It is great to see Charlie Gerow in the group of top contenders! He would make an excellent governor!
Awesome! We voted for Dan Meuser 15,000 times by having my buddies put their smart votes in private view. You can vote as many times as you’d like. Sadly Dan hasn’t paid up like promised so we are calling him out. Be nice to tech geeks and pay your bills!
Joe Gale gets my vote !
Hands down. Barletta isn’t smart enough to punch himself out of a brown paper bag. Meuser has the access to funding, the state experience as Sec of Revenue, business experience, Congressional experience, and will outwork anyone. The fact that the Trump powers that be didn’t see him as the choice at the onset is baffling—Barletta isn’t going to win! He’s overrated. Meuser could fix up the mess that’s PA better than anyone.
Years ago, Barletta wouldn’t give a full throated endorsement to Meuser when Meuser was running for his Congressional seat—don’t forget that, Danny!