Philly Leader

State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee in Pennsylvania's gubernatorial race, recently extended a challenge to Attorney General Josh Shapiro to participate in two debates in October.

According to Mastriano, the debates would have two moderators in an effort to make the debates as unbiased as possible.

“Typically, Republican statewide candidates fall prey to the trap of debates that are effectively a two-against-one matchup, in which the mainstream media, who moderate the debates, are unpaid advocates and ideological allies of the Democrat candidates,” Mastriano wrote in a letter. 

Mastriano said the topics for the debates can be "open-ended with no limits."

“I challenge you to two 90-minute debates in the month of October, one at a location of your choosing, and one at a location of my choosing,” Mastriano said. “Each debate will have two moderators … who will be allowed an equal number of questions asked of each candidate.”

Mastriano was one of four Republican candidates who participated in a debate leading up to the May primary election, WPXI reported. Over 9 million viewers tuned in to watch the hourlong debate, which was co-hosted by WPXI Anchor Lisa Sylvester and WHTM ABC27 News anchor and Capitol Bureau reporter Dennis Owens.

Shapiro, who is in his second term as Pennsylvania's attorney general, ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, according to ABC News. Incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf (D) is stepping down.

Shapiro's priorities, if he were to win the election, would include vetoing any attempts to restrict Pennsylvania's abortion laws. Shapiro called Mastriano "dangerous" and "extreme" because of his views on abortion. Mastriano's priorities include banning mask mandates in schools, banning vaccine mandates and working to ensure election integrity. 

Mastriano and Shapiro will face off in the November general election.