HARRISBURG (TNS) — It’s been a meteoric rise for Republican state Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso, who has gone from obscure borough councilwoman to state legislator to would-be lieutenant governor in just five short years.
DelRosso, a 47-year-old Scranton native and Allegheny County transplant, has for the most part avoided one-on-one contact with mainstream media outlets across the state as she faces Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Austin Davis.
In that she is like her ticketmate for governor, GOP state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who has famously ignored the mainstream media until recently, instead trying to reach voters through friendly conservative outlets or Facebook videos.
Unlike Mastriano, DelRosso has spoken to some traditional media outlets. Recently, she gave a farewell speech on the House floor that drew sharp criticism from some Democrats.
DelRosso spoke to WTAJ-TV in September and seemingly defended Mastriano rejecting interviews with mainstream media when asked about his transparency.
“My thought is that, don’t try to, you know, lie and twist and do things,” she said. “Right now, the Mastriano campaign is very open to have discussions, but we want it on neutral terms.”
PRAISED BY
GOP COLLEAGUES
Her colleagues in the House Republican caucus praised her work in the legislature.
Rep. Josh Kail, R-Beaver County, said his fellow Western Pennsylvanian is a “great team player” who will dedicate herself to the job of lieutenant governor.
“Carrie is the one of the most hardest working people you’ll ever meet in your life,” said Kail, the chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee.
“She’s going to be sorely missed in the Legislature,” Kail said.
A divorced mother of three, DelRosso moved to Western Pennsylvania to attend the University of Pittsburgh, according to her legislative biography.
She opened her own public affairs and marketing firm and in 2017 ran for Oakmont borough council.
Oakmont, located northeast of Pittsburgh along the Allegheny River, is probably best known as the home of the swanky Oakmont Country Club, which has hosted U.S. Open and PGA Championship golf tournaments.
The median household income in Oakmont is nearly $68,000 and the borough is 95% white and less than 1% Black. Its poverty rate is just 3.6%.
Davis hails from McKeesport, a former Allegheny County mill town still struggling to rebuild its economy following the demise of the steel industry.
McKeesport is 55% white and 38% Black, with a median household income of $29,000 and a 30% poverty rate.
In 2020, DelRosso burst onto the state political scene when she ousted then-House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody, a 30-year legislator also originally from Scranton, 51% to 49%.
DelRosso did fill out a PennLive questionnaire when she was one of several primary candidates.
On that, she was asked about her proudest professional moment and replied: “Unseating a 30-year incumbent minority leader in the PA House of Representatives who gerrymandered his district so he could never lose. All while I maintaining (sic) a small business, an active member of local government and most importantly being Mom.”
SEAT REDISTRICTED
DelRosso has said she decided to run for lieutenant governor after “Harrisburg insiders” drew her out of her district during the legislative redistricting process.
In May she won the GOP lieutenant governor primary with just under 25.6% of the vote, besting Mastriano’s pick, Teddy Daniels, who finished third with 12.1%.
There was some speculation about how DelRosso and Mastriano would get along, considering that she is a more traditional Republican, while he represents the far-right faction.
DelRosso opposed COVID-19 mandates from the Wolf administration but has backed mail-in balloting. Shortly after her primary win, DelRosso told NBC News that she and Mastriano were both “anti-establishment” candidates.
“We both agree that Pennsylvania needs to move forward,” DelRosso said, “and we might have some differences on some issues. But, I think we can look beyond that and win in November.”
In July, DelRosso described her and Mastriano’s relationship to cityandstatepa.com.
“He listens to my suggestions, and he works with me,” she said. “He has never, ever second-guessed me in certain things, and even when we’ve agreed or disagreed on things, there’s always a happy medium.
Kail said DelRosso would be a “great ally” to Mastriano if they’re elected.
“She’s going to be a person who fiercely advocates for the entire commonwealth,” Kail said. “She wants to do the right thing.”
SOME MISSTEPS
There have been some missteps on the campaign trail for DelRosso.
During her Sept. 21 goodbye speech on the House floor, DelRosso used the opportunity to say how proud she was to “help” state Rep. Joanna McClinton of Philadelphia become the first female and first Black House Democratic Leader by defeating Dermody.
“I think we should all be very proud of that fact,” said DelRosso.
The comments were not welcomed by the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, which released a scathing response.
“Your insensitive comments about providing your help to get our House Leader Joanna McClinton elected to this very prestigious position were disrespectful and tone deaf,” the Black Caucus said in a statement.
“To insinuate that you had anything to do with her rise to the position of leader is beyond ludicrous and is a total disregard for everything that Black women have had to work for — twice as hard — as our white counterparts,” said the Caucus.
{p class=”krtText”}DelRosso did not respond to PennLive’s request at the time to explain her comments and respond to the Black Caucus’ statement.
{p class=”krtText”}A few weeks later, DelRosso appeared on “This Week in Pennsylvania” on ABC27 in Harrisburg and avoided answering a question about accepting the results of the election if she and Mastriano, a 2020 election conspiracy theorist, were to lose next week.
{p class=”krtText”}“We’re not going to lose. I’m a winner,” DelRosso said. “And, I think the most important thing that Senator Mastriano is going to do is, when he’s governor, he will appoint someone to be a secretary of state to promote fair elections in Pennsylvania.”
{p class=”krtText”}Most recently, WESA-FM, Pittsburgh’s NPR station, reported that DelRosso was caught on a recording telling supporters, “Don’t go down that hole” when it comes to talking to voters about abortion.
{p class=”krtText”}Mastriano has said he opposes abortion without exceptions for rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother.
{p class=”krtText”}DelRosso, recorded at a meet-and-greet in Crawford County in northwest Pennsylvania, said she had “many women calling my office screaming,” but she minimized the potential blowback from women voters concerned about abortion rights in light of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
{p class=”krtText”}“They’re emotional voters,” DelRosso said. “I don’t think they’re going to vote … They yell and scream, and they forget to go to the polls.”
{p class=”krtText”}Those comments drew a swift rebuke from Signe Espinoza, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Pennsylvania Advocates. “It’s disheartening and disturbing to hear how she’s talking about voters, especially women,” Espinoza told WESA. “How sexist is it to talk about women that way?”
{p class=”krtText”}©2022 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit pennlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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