Topline
Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, chose to wear a Confederate military uniform for a 2013-14 faculty photo he appeared in while teaching at the Army War College, according to Reuters, which will likely further fuel critics’ assertions that he is a right-wing extremist.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano gives a victory speech at his election night party … [+]
Key Facts
Faculty members were allowed to dress as historical figures for the photo, but 15 of the 21 pictured wore their regular clothes and Mastriano was the only one to dress in a grey Confederate soldier uniform, according to Reuters.
Mastriano was a professor at Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, from 2012-17, teaching in the college’s Department of Military Strategy before retiring from the Army.
The college had displayed the photo alongside other faculty portraits but removed it after Reuters reported it was removed after the news outlet inquired about the image.
A commission recommended name changes earlier this year for nine U.S. bases named after Confederates, while the military effectively prohibited the display of Confederate flags as part of a ban on “divisive symbols” following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Mastriano did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Key Background
Mastriano cruised to victory in Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial primary in May, aided in part by Democrats who bought ads for him because they believe he is too extreme to win the general election. Mastriano has served as a state senator since 2019, and after President Joe Biden won the state in the 2020 presidential election, he urged the legislature to intervene to block his win. That diehard support for former President Donald Trump’s fraud claims landed him Trump’s endorsement just before the primary. Mastriano has vowed to require every Pennsylvania voter to re-register if he wins the governorship, and has also voiced support for eliminating property taxes in the state—stances critics blast as being extreme. Detractors also point to a history of Mastriano social media posts in which he appeared to express support for the QAnon conspiracy theory, along with his attendance at an April event that featured a video calling the 9/11 terrorist attacks a “false flag” operation, as evidence of right-wing extremism.
What To Watch For
Mastriano faces Democratic Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in the November general election. Shapiro holds a 5.9 percentage point lead in the latest RealClearPolitics polling average of the race.
Further Reading
Exclusive: Pennsylvania candidate Mastriano posed in Confederate uniform at Army War College (Reuters)
Trump-Endorsed Doug Mastriano Wins GOP Primary For Pennsylvania Governor (Forbes)
Trump Endorses Hard-Right Doug Mastriano In Pennsylvania’s Gubernatorial Race (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/08/26/penn-gop-gov-nominee-mastriano-wore-confederate-uniform-in-army-war-college-photo-report-says/