New Doug Mastriano Campaign Office Opens In Montgomery County

PENNSBURG, PA — The campaign of Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano was scheduled to hold a grand opening event for its new office in this central Montgomery County community this past weekend.

The Doug Mastriano campaign announced on social media that this past Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., it was planning a kickoff event for the new office space, which is designed to serve communities across four eastern Pennsylvania counties: Montgomery, Berks, Bucks and Lehigh.

The western Montgomery County campaign office opening event was scheduled to give supporters a chance to learn more about the candidate's platform, see campaign materials and resources and give people information on how to sign up to be a volunteer.

The new office space is located at 560 Seminary Street in Pennsburg, a Montgomery County borough that is located close to the Berks County line.

The scheduled campaign office opening event came two days after Mastriano's opponent, Democrat Josh Shapiro, held a similar grand opening kickoff event on the other side of Montgomery County, in Jenkintown Borough in the eastern part of the county.

Related: Shapiro Rallies In Montco At Site Of New Campaign Office: In Photos

Meanwhile, there was some controversy brewing this week over comments made by the new chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, who reportedly chastised the county GOP chairwoman for "aiding and abetting" anti-Semitism because she recently co-hosted a fundraiser for Mastriano.

"To be clear, Chairwoman [Liz] Havey does not condone anti-Semitism in any form and strongly denounces any and all anti-Semitic rhetoric and attacks," the Montgomery County Republican Committee posted to Facebook on Monday.

County GOP officials said Mastriano, too, issued a similar statement denouncing anti-Semitism during the recent fundraising event in Montgomery County, and the Republican Committee says that Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair Jason Salus "totally ignores that."

The controversy stemmed from a reported link between Mastriano and Andrew Torba, who runs a social media platform called Gab, that is said to be affiliated with far-right groups.

Mastriano, in his statement, which was provided by the Montgomery County GOP, said that Torba doesn't speak for the Mastriano campaign.

"I reject anti-Semitism in any form," Mastriano said in the statement. "Recent smears by the Democrats and the media are blatant attempts to distract Pennsylvanians from suffering inflicted by Democrat policies."

"While extremist speech is an unfortunate but inevitable cost of living in a free society, extremist policies are not — and the only candidate in this election who wants to impose extreme policies on Pennsylvania - inflation, crime, lockdowns, and mandates - is Josh Shapiro," Mastriano's statement continued.

The statement referenced by Mastriano's campaign that was issued by Salus, the new chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, came out on Monday, and called out Havey for a fundraiser she held for Mastriano last week in Montgomery County.

"Doug Mastriano paid for antisemitic, alt-right extremists on Gab to join his campaign — the same platform that allowed the Tree of Life killer to spread his hatred before murdering 11 Jews in Pittsburgh — and he refuses to end his association with Andrew Torba, an antisemitic extremist who continues to support his campaign," Salus wrote. "In fact, Mastriano told Torba, 'thank God for what you've don.'"

Salus stated that by hosting a fundraising event for Mastriano, Havey, of the county GOP, "aided and abetted this unacceptable hatred and antisemitism that has no place in our communities. Havey should immediately denounce Mastriano's actions, and donors and supporters of the Montgomery County GOP should be questioning why this committee is cozying up to antisemites."