Shapiro and Garrity clash in only Pa. governor debate
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Josh Shapiro is facing off against Stacy Garrity in the governor's race. Photos: Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images and Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity traded barbs over data centers, taxes, skill games, and gas prices in an hourlong debate, setting the stage for November's gubernatorial election.
The big picture: Wednesday night's debate filmed at ABC27 studio in Harrisburg is likely to be the only debate in this year's Pennsylvania governor contest.
Zoom in: While the candidates found some common ground — like on data centers and sports stadiums — they offered starkly different blueprints to some of the state's most pressing challenges.
🤖 Data centers
- Shapiro reiterated his data center restrictions and touted that giving local municipalities final say is best.
- Garrity called for a pause on data center development but didn't say how long.
- Worth noting: Both Shapiro and Garrity were initially supportive of data centers but have since reversed course.
⛽ Gas prices
- Shapiro said he was open to a gas tax holiday, if the legislature agrees to pass one.
- Garrity criticized Shapiro for not achieving his campaign promise of a $250 gas rebate, and tried to one-up him by proposing a $750 rebate.
- Shapiro defended his skill games tax proposal that would legalize the machines and tax them at a 52% rate, and use that revenue to fund public transit.
- Garrity slammed Shapiro's plan, saying the high tax rate would hurt VFWs and small businesses. Her plan: Legalize skill games and tax each machine a flat fee of $500 monthly.
🏟️ Sports stadiums
- Both Shapiro and Garrity agreed to not provide taxpayer dollars to build new professional sports stadiums.
🐘 Elephant in the room: Asked about a potential 2028 White House bid, Shapiro didn't close the door on that possibility but stressed he was focused this upcoming race.
- "The only thing I am focused on is running for re-election as governor …and support the kind of candidates who will push back on the chaos, the cruelty, and the corruption of Donald Trump."
Meanwhile, Garrity was asked about her support for President Trump despite his poor approval ratings in Pennsylvania, and she largely stood by Trump, while gently suggesting his tariffs should be more targeted.
- "While some tariffs have helped manufacturers, some have not," she said.
State of play: Shapiro has led in every poll so far — and by significant margins in several.
- Shapiro had a 25-point lead in a Quinnipiac poll taken in early October.
- The poll shows 59% of likely Pennsylvania voters support Shapiro compared to 34% for Garrity.
- Responses were taken from 1,159 likely voters with a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.9 percentage points.
By the numbers: Garrity has significantly trailed Shapiro in fundraising.
- Shapiro has raised about $55 million since launching his campaign, compared to Garrity's $5.3 million, per the most recent campaign filings.
- Plus: Political advertisements have dominated the race, with Shapiro ads outpacing Garrity's 43-1.
What's next: Election Day is Nov. 3.