Republicans in competitive Pa. races are tying themselves to Josh Shapiro. What does that mean for the midterms?

Several incumbent Republicans engaged in tight races in Pennsylvania have featured popular Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in their advertisements or messaging as they face their toughest challenges amid an election cycle projected to be unfavorable to the GOP.

When engaged in a high-stakes, competitive campaign, downballot political candidates frequently align themselves with someone at the top of the ticket for an extra boost.

It’s just rare nowadays for contenders to associate themselves with someone who happens to be of the opposite political party.

But a lot is at stake for both parties in Pennsylvania’s midterm elections next month — control of the state Senate, with the possibility of the first Democratic trifecta since 1993, and the battle for the majority in the U.S. House.

Shapiro, who is also running for a second term against Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity, has been spending most of his time and political capital campaigning for Democrats in competitive state House and Senate races and in four key congressional districts, including in Bucks County — home to some of the most closely watched races next month.

Here’s what to know about the ads featuring Shapiro and what they could mean for the midterms.

Republican State Sen. Frank Farry, who is seeking reelection in Bucks County’s 6th State Senate District, has produced numerous ads featuring Shapiro in his campaign against Democratic challenger Eileen Hartnett Albillar, whom Shapiro has endorsed and campaigned for. The ads include images of Farry standing side by side with Shapiro on a SEPTA platform, another that highlights his support for the governor’s data center regulation plan, and a clip from the Democrat’s speech on a bipartisan budget.

“I’ve spent my whole life serving this community,” Farry said in a recent television ad. “As a senator, I’ve worked with both parties to make life more affordable, including working with Governor Shapiro to cut taxes seven times.”

Farry and the governor have not always been on the same side on policy. For example, though they both supported increasing funding for SEPTA, Shapiro and Farry disagreed on how to do it. (Although Shapiro ultimately used Farry’s ideas to fund it for two years.)

Most of the ads that include the governor are aimed at emphasizing the Republican’s ability to work across the aisle — a trait Shapiro has also emphasized in his own work, and one that may be key to winning over Bucks County, a suburb known for its split-ticket voting.

“It would be almost impossible in some of these districts for Republicans to survive if they don’t have some ballots that include Josh Shapiro and the Republican on the ballot,” said Chris Borick, a political science professor at Lehigh University and director of its opinion observatory.

For instance, in his 2022 gubernatorial run, Shapiro won the county by roughly 20 percentage points and GOP U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick also won reelection to represent the Bucks-based 1st Congressional District. Fitzpatrick, who is now in the toughest reelection cycle of his career against Shapiro-endorsed Democratic challenger Bob Harvie, said earlier this year that the governor would win reelection and should run for president in 2028.

Ed Molloy, Farry’s campaign manager, said in a statement that the Republican “works with both parties and is proud to have gotten things done with Governor Shapiro,” especially on affordability measures.

“Senator Farry has been the most independent senator in Harrisburg because he always puts his community first,” Molloy said.

Shapiro, during one of his trips to Bucks County earlier this month, said Farry had also put the governor in a mailer and it “tells you a little something about how they see this race.”

“I want to state very, very, very clear,” Shapiro said. “Despite their cynical efforts to try and hug me, I ain’t hugging him back.”

Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for the Shapiro campaign, said “apparently even Republican candidates would rather run on Governor Shapiro’s record than Stacy Garrity’s” and pledged to continue campaigning for Democrats.

Though Garrity is absent from these ads and consistently behind in the polls, the GOP is continuing to welcome her on the campaign trail, including at events last week with Republican U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, Farry, and the Bucks County Republican Committee.

Matt Benyon, a spokesperson for the Garrity campaign, said in a statement that the treasurer is “grateful for the support her campaign has received from fellow Republicans up and down the ballot throughout her campaign.”

“She looks forward to campaigning alongside them in the final two-plus weeks, holding Josh Shapiro accountable,” Benyon said.

Other GOP candidates also focused on collaborating with Shapiro, include State Rep. Joe Hogan (R., Bucks), who mentions working with Democrats, Republicans, and Shapiro “to be a champion for our public schools” on his campaign website. A narrator in an ad for State Rep. Craig Williams (R., Delaware) said the lawmaker “works with whoever it takes,” including Shapiro.

State Rep. K.C. Tomlinson (R., Bucks), running against Democratic challenger Bryan Allen, posted a video to her Facebook page of Shapiro at a school visit, chatting with a student about working across party lines with Tomlinson.

“They say, like, Republicans and Democrats are never supposed to agree on anything,” Shapiro can be seen telling a student in the ad. “Well, we actually agree that making sure kids have breakfast at school is really important, and that our schools have what they need is really important. So we may not agree on everything, but we actually find ways to agree and to talk to each other.”

Borick said the embrace of Shapiro is “quite telling.”

“It’s far rarer to see in a year when there’s a competitive election and their party has someone on the ballot to be highlighting the opposition party,” Borick said.

The Tomlinson, Hogan, and Williams campaigns did not respond to a request for comment.

Working across the aisle is also a message GOP State Rep. Valerie Gaydos is trying to showcase to voters on the other side of the Keystone State in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

“I work with everyone, Democrats, Republicans, and Governor Shapiro, to get results,” she said in an ad where she can be seen shaking hands with the Democrat.

But as political divisiveness becomes more and more common, Gaydos said in an interview last week, it’s “sad that it’s even a question” as to why she chose to mention Shapiro in her ad. She noted that she is particularly proud of the bipartisan support she has gotten on legislation aimed at protecting pharmacies and patients and has “taken heat” from both political parties.

“Constituents have been and are sick and tired of being forced to go, ’Are you blue or red?’” Gaydos said. ”And the answer is: I represent my district.”

Christopher Nicholas, a GOP consultant in Pennsylvania, said that after Shapiro himself has routinely highlighted his ability to work with a divided legislature, it will be key to watch how his staunch campaigning for Democrats will affect his relationships with Republican lawmakers, especially if the GOP maintains control of the state Senate.

“Working across the aisle is a two-way street. … If Josh Shapiro’s been able to talk about it literally since day one of his time as governor, I’m not surprised now that some Republican legislators that are on the other side of that grand bargain have now started talking about working across the aisle as well,” Nicholas said.

Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.