Pennsylvania's state treasurer Stacy Garrity has announced she will run for governor as a Republican candidate.

Garrity is the first Republican to announce a run in the race. But another familiar name is also dropping hints at a joining-- and political analysts say more is at stake than the governor's desk.

“Our Commonwealth is at a crossroads, and we have an opportunity to turn the state around,” Garrity said during an interview today. "And I think the way that we do that is by creating jobs, unleashing the natural gas that we have under our feet, making sure that we have safe communities."

Garrity has won statewide elections twice, as Pennsylvania's treasurer.

"She got more votes than anyone on the ballot last year except for Donald Trump,” said Christopher Nicholas, a republican political strategist and owner of Eagle Consulting. "So she has a good base to work from."

Getting the vote out is critical to broader Republican party strategy in 2026 midterms. The GOP holds the Whitehouse and Congress; And the party in power often has to work harder to keep voter approval.

"We're talking about getting a candidate at the top of the ticket to challenge. Shapiro, who can get out republican voters,” said Berwood Yost, a political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College.

There are four competitive U.S. Congress seats up for re-election next fall. If Pennsylvanians come out to vote for a governor, they often end up voting on races that are down ballot and getting less attention.

“The goal for the party in power is to keep the seats they have,” Yost said.

Garrity has tough competition in Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro-- who is expected to run for re-election, and is popular in statewide polling.

She may also be running a primary race against state senator Doug Mastriano.

Mastriano has not made any official governor announcements; the state senator ran as the Republican candidate for governor in 2022, and lost by around 15 points to Shapiro. Many blame his focus on 2020 issues during that campaign for being divisive and leading to his losing the race.

"Republicans really want to avoid is a niche candidate who is very popular among a small segment of primary voters, but who can't translate to the broader general election,” Yost said.

The Pennsylvania GOP has announced they will be endorsing a candidate in September, instead of when they usually do it in February.

"They're not going to do that early to endorse Mastriano. They're going to do that early to endorse Stacy Garrity,” Nicholas said.

Getting the official endorsement from the state party gives a candidate more access to fund raising and other political connections.