Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race turns nasty as candidate Corman demands criminal investigation of rival Mastriano

In Pennsylvania, far-right State Sen. Doug Mastriano has been a vocal promoter of the Big Lie and former President Donald Trump’s bogus election fraud claims. One of Mastriano’s foes has been Pennsylvania State Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, a fellow Republican who is competing with Mastriano in Pennsylvania’s 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary. And Corman is calling for Mastriano to be investigated to make sure he is complying with campaign finance laws.

Corman now finds himself at odds with Franklin County District Attorney Matthew Fogal, who is calling Corman’s demand for a criminal investigation of Mastriano “frivolous” and “shameful,” according to Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Andrew Seidman. And Corman’s campaign, of course, vehemently disagrees.

In an official statement on February 25, Fogal said, “This is a political stunt, and I have more important work to do for the citizens of Franklin County. Even a negligent attempt to politically weaponize a district attorney is dangerous, and that is what has occurred in this instance. Please understand that this is abnormal and beyond the guardrails, like so much in our civic discourse at this time.”

Dave La Torre, a spokesperson for Corman, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that voters in Pennsylvania “deserve to know that their candidates for governor are transparent and comply with the law.”

Seidman reports, “(A) letter Wednesday from Corman campaign lawyer Zachary M. Wallen alleged Mastriano ‘may have committed flagrant and willful violations’ of state law by ‘submitting an obviously deficient and incomplete campaign finance report.’ The Corman campaign also sent the letter to state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who is also running for governor.”