Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity faces a 15-to-1 fundraising disadvantage in her race against Gov. Josh Shapiro
A recent fundraiser held at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort offers a glimpse into how Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity is cozying up to MAGA’s inner circle in order to boost her chances against Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in this year’s gubernatorial election.
The odds, however, seemed to be stacked against Garrity.
Recent polling shows that Shapiro is up by 22 percentage points in November’s election with the governor holding a 15 to 1 fundraising advantage over Garrity in 2025.
Late last month, Garrity attended her fundraiser at Trump’s palatial Palm Beach resort and social media posts and videos from the event offered a peek at who was in attendance.
One guest who attended Garrity’s fundraiser was John Strand, a former underwear model who was convicted, and later pardoned by Trump, for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
“Great to see Stacy Garrity (candidate for PA governor) and Catalina Stubbe (FL rep of Moms for Liberty) at Mar-a-lago,” Strand posted to Instagram. “We have so many patriotic conservative women in the ranks for our fight to reconquer America.”
Strand faced 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine after he was convicted in 2022, but was eventually sentenced to 32 months in jail and given a $10,000 fine before being pardoned by Trump. He and his girlfriend, Simone Gold, an anti-vaccine activist, had VIP access to the rally at the Ellipse, and marched onto the Capitol with attendees following Trump’s speech.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gold founded America’s Frontline Doctors, which made millions of dollars promoting alternative treatments such as hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin to the deadly disease, with Strand serving as the spokesperson and creative director for the organization.
Another prominent figure in MAGA world that attended Garrity’s fundraiser was Adam Kidan, who spent about three years in jail after pleading guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges relating to the $147.5 million SunCruz Casinos scandal that involved former Washington DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Video from Garrity’s social media shows Kidan cheering Trump and Garrity at the fundraiser.
According to Florida Bulldog, Kidan has been able to live a life of luxury, buy and sell houses and office buildings and donate to Republican candidates. The Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office did not tell the outlet how much of the$21.7 million in restitution to his victims he has paid or how much he still owes.
The federal government placed a lien on his Lancaster County residence in 2018.
Spotlight PA reported last August that Garrity is going to rely on Kidan’s donations and relationships with Trump and other prominent Republican donors.
Garrity’s campaign did not return a request for comment at the time of publication.
