Pa. Gov. Shapiro raises $400K in early days of reelection campaign

Benjamin Kail, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jan 12, 2026

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro raised more than $400,000 in the first two days after officially launching his long-expected reelection bid in Pittsburgh, adding a sizable figure to his whopping $30 million in cash on hand to begin the pivotal election year.

The Shapiro campaign said over the weekend that the average online contribution since his announcement Thursday was $41, setting a high mark early after 2025 online donations averaged $27.

Shapiro, a former state attorney general, state representative and Montgomery County commissioner, enters the race with more cash on hand than any gubernatorial candidate in the state's history. He's also one of several prominent Democrats in the mix in 2028 presidential primary polls, with his potential political ambitions being one of the core knocks against him from opponent Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

Political strategists and observers expect the race to be one of the most watched and costliest of 2026. It comes as Democrats are pushing for a trifecta in the General Assembly, to flip at least four U.S. House seats, and to send one of President Donald Trump's most vocal opponents in Shapiro back to Harrisburg.

"This historic fundraising strength comes as a result of contributions from all 67 counties across Pennsylvania and all 50 states — and after raising over $23 million in 2025 and over $10 million in the 4th quarter of the year alone," the governor's campaign said. The "massive show of strength" shows he's "ready to run on a strong record of bringing people together to deliver results," the campaign added.

The Garrity campaign announced that it raised roughly $1.5 million last year and started 2026 with at least $1 million in cash on hand.

While the fundraising for Garrity is significantly less than Shapiro early in the race, her campaign and Republican allies note that she is gaining name recognition, has the full support of the state GOP, and is less likely to see a primary challenge now that state Sen. Doug Mastriano is out of the picture.

Mastriano announced last week that he would not run for governor. But he did later tell News Talk 103.7 FM in Chambersburg that "probably the only way the (Republicans) would win" is if he joined the Garrity ticket.

Garrity and the state party said they respected Mastriano's decision and expressed support for his service in the state Senate.

In November, Garrity told supporters at a Mifflin County event that her campaign had a high target of at least $50 million. She noted that the campaign had held at least half a dozen fundraisers since announcing in August, and had since picked up a national fundraiser.

"And so we have a plan — our plan is to get to $50 million," she said. "Now, we will probably have $150 million, but at some point there's a lot of diminishing returns where those funds will go. So we have a plan to get to 50."

On top of attacks that Shapiro has been too focused on the White House and out-of-state fundraising, the Garrity campaign says it plans to scrutinize economic failures, and spending and transparency issues with his administration.

"Josh Shapiro has never faced a campaign like ours, and we will have the funds to both prosecute Josh Shapiro's failures and scandals while painting our positive vision for the commonwealth's future," she said in a statement.

Several political operatives and party officials on both sides of the aisle say Garrity is likely to raise more funds than Mastriano did in his losing bid against Shapiro in 2022.

Shapiro received almost $59 million in contributions in 2022, compared to Mastriano's $8.2 million, according to OpenSecrets.

Outside groups backing Shapiro outspent Mr. Mastriano's outside supporters by almost 20-1: at least $20.4 million compared to about $824,000, according to a Post-Gazette analysis.

Garrity, a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and businesswoman from Bradford County, beat Shapiro's record of most votes cast for a statewide candidate with almost 3.5 million in 2024. She also beat an incumbent Democrat, Joe Torsella, in 2020, who like Shapiro thus far, had significantly outraised her.

Annual fundraising reports for 2025 are due to the state from both candidates on Feb. 2.

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