Doug Mastriano Says He Will Not Run For U.S. Senate

PENNSYLVANIA — State Sen. Doug Mastriano will not run for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania in 2024, he said in an announcement Thursday night, addressing persistent rumors that he would throw a MAGA-shaped wrench into the budding race.

Mastriano appeared to all but confirm a potential run last week, when he told an Inquirer reporter during an event in Lebanon County that his coming announcement would contain "crazy good news."

It's unclear if the ensuing response from the mainstream Republican Party, which included numerous elected officials publicly begging him not to bring his alt-right platform into the race, swayed his decision.

"At this time we have decided not to run for U.S. Senate but to continue to serve in Harrisburg," Mastriano said on Facebook Live, adding that he would support the eventual Republican nominee. "At this time, at this moment, the way things currently are, I am not running for the US Senate seat."

Related: Doug Mastriano Nearing U.S. Senate Run Announcement: Report

Mastriano's decision means that Republicans will have a chance to put forward a more centrist candidate. But it's not known who that will be. The most obvious choice would be the man Mastriano beat in the 2022 gubernatorial primary, Bush-administration bureaucrat Dave McCormick. McCormick trailed Mastriano, 39 to 21 percent, in a widely circulated Public Policy Polling survey earlier this year that also reaffirmed former President Donald Trump's popularity among Republicans across the state.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bob Casey will run for re-election on the Democratic side. The race figures to be one of the most closely watched in 2024, as a battleground state's senate election could sway the balance of power in Washington into the future.