Trump nominates Doug Mastriano to serve as ambassador to Slovakia as supporters mount write-in campaign for Pa. governor

President Donald Trump has nominated State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a far-right conservative who unsuccessfully ran for Pennsylvania governor, to be the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, the White House announced Monday.

The Franklin County Republican’s nomination will need to be approved by the U.S. Senate.

Mastriano said in a statement Monday that he is “deeply honored and humbled” by Trump’s nomination, and he will continue serving in the state Senate while the U.S. Senate considers him.

“I look forward to representing our nation abroad, strengthening the friendship between our two countries, and advancing the interests of the American people,” Mastriano added.

The state lawmaker, who lost his 2022 bid for Pennsylvania governor by almost 15 percentage points to Democrat Josh Shapiro, has no direct diplomatic experience.

But Trump will often tap his allies and loyalists for jobs within his administration. Mastriano was Trump’s top ally in Pennsylvania in 2020, as he backed efforts to overturn the state’s presidential election. Trump later endorsed him in 2022 for governor, and Mastriano remains a top Trump supporter in the state today.

Mastriano is a retired U.S. Army colonel, who first ran for state Senate to represent the Gettysburg area in 2019. The combat veteran previously served for a time in Eastern Europe, including along the former Czechoslovakian border. His 30-year military career also included deployments to Kuwait and Afghanistan, where he rose in the ranks until reaching colonel.

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Trump’s thinking behind Mastriano’s nomination. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa) did not respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa) supports the nomination of Mastriano — whom he called a “friend” — and congratulated him in a post on X Monday.

“If confirmed, he will be a great ambassador. Doug has dedicated his life to serving our nation in uniform and in public office, and I wish him the best in this important role representing America abroad,” McCormick said.

As the nomination heads to the U.S. Senate, more than 1,000 of Mastriano’s supporters are running a write-in campaign to nominate him for governor in the May 19 Republican primary.

Mastriano did not endorse the GOP-backed candidate, Treasurer Stacy Garrity, and said he would write himself in on his ballot, despite forgoing a campaign this year. (Trump has endorsed Garrity’s candidacy).

Garrity said Monday on X that Trump could “not have chosen a more experienced leader than Senator Doug Mastriano to serve as Ambassador to the Slovak Republic,” noting his military service and time in the Pennsylvania Senate.

“I don’t need to wish Doug good luck because I know he will represent our American ideals and love of freedom with distinction,” she added.

Pennsylvania has the largest Slovak population in the country as of 2024, according to World Population Review.

Mastriano was nominated Monday alongside Kari Lake, another failed GOP gubernatorial candidate from Arizona who pushed efforts to overturn her state’s 2020 presidential election results. She was nominated to be the U.S. ambassador to Jamaica.

Staff writer Sam Janesch contributed to this article.