Late into Tuesday evening, Decision Desk HQ called the Pennsylvania gubernatorial race for Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro in a race he was largely expected to win. Shapiro, who serves as the state's attorney general currently, also ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
With 98 percent of the vote in, Shapiro is up 54.58 percent of the vote compared to Mastriano's 43.57 percent.
Decision Desk HQ projects Josh Shapiro (D) elected governor in Pennsylvania.#DecisionMade: 10:13pm EST
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 9, 2022
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Shapiro was largely favored by forecasters who considered the race to be "Likely Democratic" or "Lean Democratic." He was also favored in the polls. If this approximately 9 point lead holds, it will be about what pollsters predicted, with his RealClearPolitics (RCP) average showing a +8.3 lead. That being said, some polls do look to have overestimated Shapiro's performance.
While Shapiro's race was called tonight, the same cannot be said for the closely-watched Senate race between Democrat John Fetterman and Dr. Mehmet Oz, his Republican nominee. That race is not expected to be called for some time, potentially days. Lawsuits have also come about due to what ballots to count and there were shenanigans in Luzerne County with a supply shortage in paper described as "seriously deficient."
Fetterman currently leads with a particularly narrow margin of 49.04 percent to Dr. Oz's 48.52 percent early on Wednesday morning. Fetterman's lead and potential win could very much potentially come off of Shapiro's coattails.