HARRISBURG — Should Stacy Garrity win the Republican nod to run for Pennsylvania governor next year, she’ll need to vie for the financial support of many of the same donors who contributed to Democrat Josh Shapiro’s electoral success. Garrity won races for Pennsylvania treasurer during the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections without facing primary challengers.

In those efforts, she raised a combined $3.7 million. By comparison, former Gov. Tom Wolf and the three Republicans who wanted to deny him reelection in 2018 collectively raised $57.4 million. Observers expect that Garrity’s mostly untested ability to raise major funds could be a key litmus test of her capacity to run a competitive campaign in 2026.

“I don’t think you have to outraise [Shapiro] to win or be competitive,” Sam Chen, a Lehigh Valley-based GOP consultant, told Spotlight PA. “But if she’s not in the $25 to $30 million range, I don’t think it’s a race.”

Garrity, who announced her candidacy last week, faces a tough race against Shapiro, a popular incumbent running in a midterm expected to benefit the party that does not hold the presidency, if American political traditions hold.