Key Takeaways
- Energy Independence is the Message: Garrity says Pennsylvania is sitting on “billions of dollars in economic opportunity” with its natural gas reserves and wants to unleash them, echoing Trump and McCormick’s calls for energy dominance.
- Shapiro’s Record Under Fire: From missing the state budget deadline to blocking school choice, Garrity argues Shapiro has “failed the state” and sided with “radical liberals” on hot-button cultural issues.
- Underdog Spirit, Proven Wins: Garrity points to her Army service, private-sector career, and upset victories as proof she’s a fighter who can take on Shapiro—despite his national profile and fundraising machine.
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity is officially in the ring for the 2026 governor’s race, and she’s coming out swinging. The Republican Army veteran and business executive announced Monday that she’ll challenge Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro, arguing he’s left Pennsylvania “struggling under the weight of bad policy.”
“I have a much different vision for the commonwealth,” Garrity told Fox News Digital. “We really need to take advantage of what we have right under our feet, which would create a lot of financial breathing room for the commonwealth that we desperately need.”
Translation: Pennsylvania is sitting on an ocean of natural gas, and Garrity says it’s time to unleash it—just as President Trump and Sen. Dave McCormick called for in 2024. That “billions of dollars in economic opportunity,” as Garrity put it, could fuel jobs, boost wages, and restore fiscal sanity to a state government addicted to overspending.
She isn’t stopping at energy. Garrity blasted Shapiro’s record on education and budget discipline, pointing to his failures on school choice and the state’s missed budget deadline. “He might be able to play political games with education, but our kids certainly can’t,” she said.
Pennsylvania has trended red since Trump’s 2024 victory and McCormick’s Senate win, and Garrity believes voters are demanding less government meddling and more economic freedom. “More money in our pockets and less of the government’s hands in our pockets,” she told Fox.
Shapiro, for his part, is leaning on his national profile, reminding reporters he’s focused on “creating jobs” and “bringing Republicans and Democrats together.” But Garrity isn’t buying it. “He’s with radical liberals pushing a political agenda,” she said, taking aim at his stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Garrity’s résumé is no small thing. Thirty years in the Army Reserves, three Middle East deployments, and a private-sector career that took her to the executive suite. Add to that her upset win for treasurer—and a record-breaking reelection vote total—and Garrity is betting voters want grit over polish.
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life,” she said. And in battleground Pennsylvania, that might be exactly the edge Republicans need.