It was a club-like atmosphere with a roaring crowd at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA on Election Night, Nov. 8, as former Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro defeated his Republican challenger PA State Senator Doug Mastriano, as first reported by NBC News. 

“These last 13 months of this campaign, I spent a whole lot of time criss-crossing the Commonwealth. I want you to know, I've done a whole lot of learning, and a whole lot of growing as a result,” Shapiro told a packed house. 

Shapiro’s huge win means he will become PA’s next governor, replacing Gov. Tom Wolf. His victory will now protect and keep PA’s election infrastructure away from the far-right state senator, who is a 2020 election denier, and attended the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 

Shapiro was sure to thank his supporters, from all walks of life, and ages for electing him as PA’s next Governor. 

“I share your hopes and fears, your dreams and your worries. you have helped me become a better man. And you have humbled me along the way. No matter how different our Commonwealth is, no matter how different the terrain is, those are the basic values that every single Pennsylvania voters from Gen Z to our senior people from all different walks of life have given me the honor of a lifetime to give me the chance to serve you as Pennsylvania's next governor.”

Shapiro led a successful campaign in which he posed Mastriano as an extremist who looked to take away abortion rights from women, the freedom to vote, and the ability for workers to unionize. Shapiro significantly out spent Mastriano, spending around $44 million, in stark comparison to less than $4 million for the latter.

“I humbly stand before you as your governor-elect knowing that you met this moment. No matter where you come from, who you love or pray to, you are valued here in Pennsylvania, a woman's right to choose won tonight. You're right to vote won,” Shapiro said in his victory speech in Oaks, PA.

Throughout Election Night, polls had Shapiro leading by huge margins and even throughout most of the general election race. His victory will keep Pennsylvania governorship in Democratic control for another four years. The former state representative has served as PA’s attorney general since 2017.

Besides his own victory, Shapiro touched on some of the bigger wins that Pennsylvania get as a result of his successful election, which include “real freedom,” a common phrase used throughout his campaign. 

“Real freedom won tonight. Real freedom sees possibility in all God's children, which forces us to then step up for those kids and invest in their public school to give them a shot. A little freedom that allows us to invest in a safer community. So all God's children make it until their 18th birthday, real freedom. Real freedom where we get people the opportunity to start a small business,” Shapiro said.

The Gubernatorial outcome is in stark contrast to PA’s U.S. Senate race between Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) and Dr. Mehmet Oz (R), as polls currently show that race having a single-digit difference.

Before concluding, the next governor-elect also reassured supporters, and all watching across the Commonwealth that tonight’s victory is only the beginning of a longer journey towards fixing the state. 

“I want you to know, the job is not done. The task is not complete. Tonight is a beginning, not the end of the journey. This is a moment of real opportunity for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and opportunity that because of your hard work, and because of your votes, we collectively earned,” said Shapiro

Per NBC News, Shapiro most likely benefited from ticket-splitters who planned to vote for Dr. Oz in the Senate race, but would not support Mastriano. 

Shapiro’s win will be huge for people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and women across the Commonwealth as he looks to keep abortion legal as his opponent looked to ban it statewide, with no exceptions. 

“So tonight, with our feet firmly planted on a foundation of our democracy, our hearts more open than they were even just yesterday, and I was looking ahead, we begin to work together to move this commonwealth,” he said.