For Republicans gathered in Bucks County Thursday night, President Donald Trump’s win in the swing county in 2024 has given them confidence they can keep Bucks red in future elections, including next year for Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
Garrity brought her campaign for Pennsylvania governor to the purplest Philadelphia suburb for the first time Thursday night, speaking to a crowd of local Republicans at the Newtown Sports & Events Center as part of her “Help Is On The Way” Tour across the commonwealth.
“She could’ve gone anywhere, anywhere in the state … but she picked you, she picked Bucks County. You know why? Because Bucks County delivers,” Pat Poprik, chair of the Bucks County Republican Committee, told the crowd, referring to Trump flipping the county red last year.
Of all Garrity’s stops on the tour stretching from Erie to Clarks Summit, Bucks County may be the most politically important. It’s one of Pennsylvania’s top swing counties and Garrity will need to win votes there as she runs against incumbent Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who won the county by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022 against State Sen. Doug Mastriano (R., Franklin).
Bucks County’s importance in the 2026 gubernatorial race and this year’s municipal elections was no secret Thursday night.
Garrity, who won Bucks by 6.5 percentage points during her reelection campaign for state treasurer last year, touted her electoral performance in the county and said “Bucks County believed in me” during her first bid for state treasurer in 2020.
And State Rep. Kristin Marcell (R., Bucks) said “Bucks County, as everyone knows, is the bellwether.”
Bucks County has been one of the closest-watched counties during recent presidential elections, especially after Trump won the county by just 291 votes against former Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
But it’s been about 15 years since the county has gone red for a candidate for governor — which was also the last time Republicans won a gubernatorial election in Pennsylvania.
Former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, who endorsed Garrity last week, won Bucks by almost 11 percentage points in 2010 against Democrat Dan Onorato, a former chief executive of Allegheny County.
Joan Graves, 78, of Levittown, attended Thursday night’s event at the Newtown Sports & Events Center, owned by GOP megadonor Jim Worthington. Graves sees Garrity as a stronger candidate against Shapiro than Mastriano, who was considered too extreme by many in the GOP. Garrity has already received the endorsement of the state GOP after the party decided to support a candidate earlier than in previous years.
Graves, who volunteered with Mastriano’s campaign in 2022, said she thinks Garrity “relates to everyday people more.”
Mastriano has floated running once again for governor. Garrity told reporters Thursday that she has a “great relationship” with him.
“If he runs, he runs,” she said.
In her stump speech Thursday night, Garrity outlined her policies on numerous topics, including school choice and using Pennsylvania’s natural resources for energy. She also aligned herself with Trump on public safety and later told reporters she’d be “fine” with the president ordering the deployment of the National Guard to Pennsylvania if it helps improve safety.
“I will be a partner with President Trump, and not a roadblock to make sure our streets are safe,” Garrity said during her speech. “So whether it’s Philadelphia, Pittsburgh or Punxsutawney … we need to keep our streets safe.”
In a statement ahead of Garrity’s event, Pennsylvania Democratic Party chair Eugene DePasquale said: “Stacy Garrity has pledged her complete support for Donald Trump’s agenda and has fully embraced a plan that is raising costs, killing jobs, and cutting health care for the people of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
“While she’s pretending to show up and ask for our support, we know the truth: Stacy Garrity cannot be trusted to fight for us,” DePasquale said.
Garrity, and other Republicans that spoke Thursday night also took jabs at Shapiro, his potential aspirations for higher office, and for the state budget impasse.
On Wednesday, Garrity went around Shapiro and the politically divided General Assembly to offer counties and early education programs $500 million in low-interest loans to hold them over until a final state budget deal is reached.
To govern over a divided legislature — responsible for holding up the state budget — it’s “simple,” Garrity told reporters.
“Show up, roll up your sleeves, and you get the job done,” she said.