Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro easily defeated Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity in his re-election bid, NBC News projects.
Shapiro, a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, has not faced much competition from Garrity, who was in double digits in the polls heading into Election Day and has been well outpaced in fundraising.
The substantial victory in a key battleground gives Shapiro a springboard toward a possible White House bid. In the final weeks of the contest, he launched a federal political action committee, New Path PAC, his first official move into national politics, which his campaign said was intended to help congressional candidates in his state.
Shapiro enjoys strong approval ratings in his state, although voters are more split on whether he should run for president. He spent much of the campaign seeking to encourage House candidates locked in much tighter races, which could determine control of the House, as well as state lawmakers who could give Democrats full control in Harrisburg for the first time in more than 30 years.
Garrity, meanwhile, struggled to break through in the race, and polls showed that a large portion of voters were unaware of her candidacy. Republicans had cleared the field for his candidacy before the primaries, seeking to avoid a messy fight that could prevent him from targeting Shapiro.
In the final weeks of the general election, Garrity sought to put some space between herself and President Donald Trump on tariffs, highlighting her differences with him during her only televised debate with Shapiro.
The race was never particularly close, although the candidates had notable exchanges on data center policy, with Garrity coming out in favor of a moratorium, followed by Shapiro announcing new, tougher mandates for developers in the state.
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