Republican gubernatorial candidate silent as radio host blames Gov. Shapiro for arson attack on governor’s mansion

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Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity did not challenge a right-wing radio host’s claim that Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was personally responsible for the April arson attack on the Pennsylvania governor’s residence.

Appearing on “The Bob Cordaro Show” last week, Garrity joined the conservative commentator for a wide-ranging conversation that turned to the April 13 incident in which a fire damaged parts of the governor’s mansion in Harrisburg and forced the governor and his family to flee in the middle of the night.

Authorities have not linked the incident to any lapse in state security. Cordaro, however, suggested otherwise.

“There’s a level of incompetence he can’t even protect his own governor’s mansion,” Cordaro told Garrity. “He’s in charge of the state police. He’s in charge of his security detail… We got our own governor’s mansion burned like it was wartime.”

Rather than disputing the characterization, Garrity simply responded, “Ah, yeah, that was bad.”

A spokesperson for the campaign clarified that her comment “that was bad” referred to the attack itself and referred to comments she made immediately after the event in which she said she has “zero tolerance for any sort of violence” and “an attack on the governor is an attack on us all.”

In an interview shortly after the attack, Garrity called similar statements made by U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser “unnecessary.” Although Meuser condemned the incident, he went on to say that Democrats use “violent and hostile commentary” that contribute to such attacks.

The Garrity campaign replied neither to specific questions about whether she agreed that Shapiro’s incompetence or the state police were to blame, nor to what she would have done differently as governor to prevent such incidents.

However, Democrats like Jack Doyle, director of the Pennsylvania Accountability Hub, condemned the exchange, saying that Garrity failed to push back, lending legitimacy to an unfounded suggestion that the governor bore direct responsibility for the incident.

“When Stacy Garrity had the chance to stand up to the kind of toxic, dangerous rhetoric that is poisoning our politics, she instead chose to embrace it,” Doyle said in a statement to WHYY News. “Garrity’s willingness to politicize violence for her own gain is a dangerous reminder that Pennsylvanians cannot trust her to lead.”

Shapiro’s office declined to comment on the exchange. Pennsylvania State Police, which are charged with protecting the governor and the residence, did not respond to a request for comment.

What happened in the arson attack?

The suspect in the incident made it over a high-security fence and ignited a fire, forcing the governor, his family and his guests to flee in the dead of night. Just hours before, Shapiro hosted a celebration for the first night of Passover, an important Jewish holiday. Authorities have charged a 38-year-old unemployed mechanic with arson and other crimes in relation to the incident.

The suspect told police he felt hatred toward Shapiro and referenced Palestinians in a 911 call earlier that day. According to the suspect’s family, he struggles with mental illness and has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital multiple times.

The exchange between Cordaro and Garrity appears to underscore Garrity’s electoral challenge: winning a Republican primary in the Trump era while simultaneously keeping enough distance from the Make America Great Again movement to ensure she can still win the general election in November 2026.

And who is Stacy Garrity?

Garrity is a native of Bradford County and a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel who served three overseas deployments — including the Gulf War and the Iraq War — during which she earned two Bronze Stars and the Legion of Merit. She became known as the “Angel of the Desert” for her humane leadership at Camp Bucca. After her military service, Garrity went into the private sector.

In 2020, she pulled off a surprise victory as Pennsylvania’s first Republican state treasurer in over a decade, unseating the Democratic incumbent. She then won reelection last year with a record-setting 3.5 million votes — the most ever for a statewide candidate in Pennsylvania. The self-described Trump ally officially launched her campaign for governor last month, positioning herself as a fiscally disciplined alternative to Shapiro, whom she accuses of mismanagement and of a “far-left” agenda.