Mastriano, Shapiro focus on Philly area in final campaign push
NEWTOWN, PA (CBS) -- In Pennsylvania's highly watched race for governor, Democratic candidate Josh Shapiro and Republican candidate Doug Mastriano have intensified their focus on southeastern Pennsylvania, fighting to engage voters in the campaigns' waning hours.
Shapiro made stops Monday in Philadelphia and Jenkintown.
After making two visits Sunday in South and Northeast Philly, Mastriano headed out to Bucks County Monday. At a winery, he condemned what he described as failing crime-fighting efforts in Philadelphia.
"We saw the shooting at the football game in Roxborough," Mastriano said. "We saw the carjacking of a mom loading a kid up in the car in Montgomery County, we saw the illegal ATVs boxing in a mom with her kid in the car, and trying to carjack her on the move. I didn't see this kind of crap in Afghanistan."
The race for governor pits Mastriano, a state senator from central Pennsylvania who's polling as the underdog, against Shapiro, the state attorney general from the Philadelphia suburbs.
Shapiro also tackled a message of public safety at an event in the city, telling voters that challenges can be turned around.
"We need to make sure our children live in safe communities. People have a right to both be safe and feel safe in their communities," Shapiro said. "We can do that working together. And we're going to build an economy that treats everyone with respect, that lifts everyone up, and it gets the job done here in Philadelphia and across the commonwealth."
Both candidates this weekend received a high wattage late stage push from their party leaders -- Shapiro was on stage at Temple University's Liacouras Center with President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama in Philadelphia.
On the other side of the state, former President Donald Trump rallied with Mastriano in Latrobe on Saturday.
Mastriano has frequently assailed pandemic-era shutdowns ordered by the Wolf administration. He predicts the polls are wrong, and his campaign is galvanized by anger over COVID-19 protocols.
Meanwhile, Shapiro points to the future of democracy, asking voters to steer clear of extremism.
"We have the responsibility to all God's children. We have the responsibility to lift everyone up," Shapiro said. "And we have the responsibility to do what our ancestors did and ensure that our democracy continues on. And that we write this next chapter in our American story ending it the way that all the others have.
Both candidates are expected to continue reaching voters as the hours wind down.