Democratic governor says Pa. race marked a high-stakes battle for freedom and opportunity

Gov. Josh Shapiro opened his Western Pennsylvania re-election campaign pitch in a Pittsburgh union hall Thursday, emphasizing his mantra of getting things done and setting the stage for a fight with the Trump administration in Washington as much as his Republican opponent, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity.

“Right now we are in a battle to protect the very foundation upon which we call home,” Mr. Shapiro told a crowd packed into Local 432, the largest carpenter Local in the Keystone State. “Every stop of the way, I've stood up for Pennsylvanians — sometimes in a court of law, sometimes by just not backing down … and always speaking truth to power.”

Hundreds of boisterous Democrats, including supporters and local and state elected officials and nonprofit and labor leaders, crowded the hall in Collier to see the governor’s first of two speeches Thursday. Many took photos and selfies with disposable cameras handed out by the campaign along with Shapiro T-shirts and other merch, and many hoisted signs reading, “A governor who’s got your back.”

Mr. Shapiro’s campaign released a launch video early Thursday morning, and the governor is poised to deliver remarks in Philadelphia in the evening.