Some Republicans organize ad campaign to defeat fellow Republican Doug Mastriano
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Some Republicans say Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano is too extreme for mainstream Republicans.
So, they are putting money behind an ad campaign to persuade other Republicans to vote against their party's nominee.
It's called the Republican Accountability Project. Based in Washington DC, it's organizing in states like Pennsylvania with competitive elections featuring Republican candidates the project views as extremist.
"The Republican party used to be the party of small government, personal responsibility," said Dave Kitzinger of Mt. Lebanon. "It's gone away from that now, and we're now totally involved in the culture wars."
Kitzinger has been a lifelong Republican, until recently, but he's now part of the Republican Accountability Project.
"The Republican Accountability Project wants to have Republican leaders that support democracy, support the constitution. They're not out touting the 'Big Lie.' The election wasn't stolen. Joe Biden was legitimately elected," Kitzinger told KDKA-TV political editor Jon Delano on Thursday.
For Kitzinger and some other Republicans, Mastriano's involvement on Jan. 6 disqualifies him for governor, and they go after him in a TV ad.
Ad text: "Doug Mastriano is one of the scariest politicians I've seen. He took busloads of people to Jan. 6. He was there himself."
"I cannot think of anything less constitutional than trying to overturn a free and fair election, and that is exactly what Doug Mastriano tried to do," said Republican Gunner Ramer, the political director for the Republican Accountability Project.
Ramer says the group is spending $2 million on its ad campaign to persuade fellow Republicans "not" to vote for Mastriano.
The attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, says Kitzinger, is now a key element in how he votes.
"If you can't accept the fact that Jan. 6 was an insurrection and you can't accept the fact that it was an attempted overthrow of the government, then I can't vote for those individuals," Kitzinger said.
As for Mastriano, says Kitzinger.
"He wants to kick everyone off the voting rolls, force everybody to re-register voting because he thinks somehow there's a whole lot of people out there who aren't legal voters," Kitzinger said. "He wants to appoint a secretary of state that will control voting the way he wants it done."
"We're a bunch of Republicans, former Republicans, and conservatives who cannot stand Donald Trump's takeover of the Republican party," Ramer said.
Ramer says Mastriano takes the most extreme positions on many issues and that turns off some Republicans.
"Every step of the way, Doug Mastriano is an extreme candidate. And I will just say, the reason why Joe Biden won Pennsylvania is because a bunch of disaffected Republicans decided not to vote for Trump. These same voters are completely turned off by a Doug Mastriano type of candidate," Ramer said.
Ramer says the effort is more against Mastriano than for Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee.
KDKA-TV reached out to the Mastriano campaign and state Republican officials for comment, but so far, no response. The election is in just over 16 weeks.
