(WHTM) - Pennsylvania voters will make their voices heard in 2026 for who they want to be the next Governor of Pennsylvania.
Republican and Democratic Party candidates will be selected during the spring primary to run in the November general election.
Here's who is running for Governor of Pennsylvania.
Republican Party
Declared Candidates
John Ventre
John Ventre is once again a declared candidate for governor in 2026. Ventre previously ran for governor in 2022, but did not receive enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot. Ventre has also run multiple times for Westmoreland County Commissioner, recently finishing third in the 2023 Republican primary and appearing as a write-in vote for seven positions.
Potential Candidates
Stacy Garrity
Twice-elected State Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) announced on July 9 that she will make a decision on whether to run for governor "very soon."
A native of Athens, Bradford County, Garrity served in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Colonel and is the former Vice President of Global Tungsten and Powders Corp. in Bradford County.
Garrity ran for Treasurer in 2020 and narrowly defeated incumbent Treasurer Joe Torsella (D) by less than 1%. Her upset victory as a political newcomer came the same year Josh Shapiro (D) won the Attorney General's race by more than four points.
In her first term as Treasurer, Garrity prioritized the Treasury's unclaimed property system, ensuring residents receive their money, military awards, or personal effects that reside in the state vault. She also supported the Money Match Program, which allowed the state's unclaimed property system to automatically return unclaimed money, up to $500, to residents. The Treasury says millions of dollars have been returned to residents in the program's first year.
Garrity also banned TikTok on Treasury devices in 2022, saying, “TikTok presents a clear danger due to its collection of personal data and its close connection to the communist Chinese government.”
Garrity has also said Pennsylvania should be a leader in energy production and has called for fiscal responsibility in state spending.
Last November, Garrity broke Shapiro’s record for the most votes received by a state official in Pennsylvania in her re-election campaign. She called for unity in Harrisburg, saying after her swearing in, “We must put aside disagreements and find common ground.”
Following her re-election, Garrity's Treasury Department announced new investments in Israeli bonds. Garrity had previously moved to divest millions of dollars in Russian assets after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Garrity faced controversy after speaking at a January 5, 2021, rally in Harrisburg, telling the crowd to “question the integrity” of the presidential election. The day after, the U.S. Capitol was attacked by many who questioned the election results. Garrity later condemned the violence at the Capitol following the attack.
Garrity's fundraising team says she's also supported the efforts of DOGE, saying in April with an email titled "We were doing Doge in PA before it was cool" and the line "Everyone’s talking about DOGE—but Stacy Garrity’s been on it from day one."
Doug Mastriano
State Senator Doug Mastriano has publicly expressed that he is considering another run for Governor in 2026. Mastriano has served in the State Senate since 2019, representing Adams and Franklin counties.
A retired Army colonel, Mastriano told abc27 in February that he believes he could win another primary after clinching the party's gubernatorial nomination in 2022 with nearly 44% support in a nine person primary.
He went on to lose the general election to Josh Shapiro by nearly 800,000 votes, with Shapiro receiving more than 56% of the vote.
Mastriano drew criticism throughout his gubernatorial campaign for efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his presence in Washington, D.C., on January 6, though Mastriano says he did not participate in the Capitol riot.
Questions were also raised after a photo of Mastriano wearing a Confederate uniform in 2014 at an Army War College faculty event surfaced. The recipient of a Ph.D. in History and the author of multiple books, Mastriano also faced academic pushback on the legitimacy of his research.
In the 2025 State Senate Session, Mastriano has introduced or co-sponsored legislation including the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” a vaccine exemption for members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, and the establishment of a “Green Alert System” to notify the public of a missing veteran.
Democratic Party
Josh Shapiro
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro will seek a second term in a race that will garner national attention.
The first-term governor quickly rose through the ranks of Pennsylvania politics to become one of the faces of the Democratic Party. Over the past 20 years, Shapiro has served seven years in the State House of Representatives, five years as a Montgomery County Commissioner, six years as Attorney General, and is now in his first term as governor.
As governor Shapiro has touted the passage of bipartisan legislation, including repealing Pennsylvania's Sunday hunting ban, expanding access to mammograms, universal free breakfast in schools, expanding ready-to-drink cocktail access, and reforming the state's unclaimed property system.
In 2024, Shapiro was a finalist to run as Kamala Harris's vice presidential nominee after being a publicly ardent supporter of President Joe Biden prior to him dropping out of the race. Shapiro later acknowledged he expressed concern to Biden about his electability.
In April 2025, Shapiro and his family were targeted in an arson attack on the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg while they were sleeping. The attack came hours after the Shapiro family celebrated the first night of Passover. The suspected arsonist made references to Palestine amid Shapiro's support for Israel and rejection of antisemitism.
While the focus is on the 2026 gubernatorial race, Shapiro has been tapped by many as a potential candidate for president in 2028. A June 2025 Emerson College Polling survey found Shapiro to be one of the early leading candidates in the Democratic primary. Shapiro has pushed back on reports of his potential presidential ambitions, saying he is focused on being governor despite expanding his national presence.
Declined to seek gubernatorial nomination
Dan Meuser (R)
Congressman Dan Meuser announced in July 2025 that he would not run for governor despite earning an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Meuser, who represents Pennsylvania's 9th Congressional District, previously expressed interest
"My focus needs to remain on doing my job, serving my constituents and executing the plans to strengthen our country," Meuser said in a statement on July 8.
"I am confident we will have an outstanding gubernatorial candidate," Meuser added. "We will defeat Governor Shapiro, and make Pennsylvania a leader among states and the best place to live."
