BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano conceded to Democrat Josh Shapiro in a statement released Sunday.
In a page-long message posted to his social media, Mastriano said the results "are not what we hoped, prayed and fought so hard for."
- Doug Mastriano conceded the Pennsylvania governor's race to Josh Shapiro
- The concession was posted to Mastriano's social media accounts Sunday evening
- Mastriano lost to Shapiro by more than 750,000 votes in a race called on Election Day
The retired Army colonel, who also was backed by former President Donald Trump, proceeded through much of his campaign expressing far-right views and doubling down on his anti-abortion stance.
At a rally in Palmer Township in late October, Mastriano said he wanted to "turn Pennsylvania into the Florida of the north," vowing to ban critical race theory from schools and end "pronoun games" in classrooms, referring to transgender issues.
Mastriano attended Trump's rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The governor's race was called for Shapiro on Election Day. Mastriano lost by more than 750,000 votes.
"Difficult to accept as the results are, there is no right course but to concede, which I do, and I look to the challenges ahead," Mastriano said in his concession.
While he accepted the loss, Mastriano's statement also called for reforms to Pennsylvania’s elections, including a way to obtain faster results.