HARRISBURG (TNS) — Treasurer Stacy Garrity hasn’t even announced her bid for Pennsylvania governor yet, and the punches have already begun.

Two powerful labor union associations, the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council and the Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council — both of which endorsed Garrity in her reelection bid for treasurer in November — issued warnings earlier this month that if Garrity, a Republican, challenges their ally Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, they will never support her again.

“We are unwavering in our support for our friend Governor Josh Shapiro — and a bid to run on the Republican ticket for Governor against him will sever any relationship we ever maintained with the Treasurer,” said the Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council in an unsigned statement.

The statements from influential union leaders were released as Republicans have begun to coalesce around Garrity as their favored candidate to take on Shapiro, who remains popular among a majority of Pennsylvanians, according to a Morning Consult poll released last week.

“Should Treasurer Garrity make the foolish decision to challenge our Governor, she will never again have the support of the Philadelphia Building Trades. Not even for county dog catcher,” said Ryan Boyer, the head of the Philadelphia building trades, in a statement.

Boyer’s statement crossed a line for the 10 female GOP state senators, including President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Westmoreland Republican, who rushed to Garrity’s defense and called on Shapiro to denounce the statement.

A spokesperson for Shapiro declined to comment and has yet to weigh in on the controversy in the week since the statement’s release.

“It is clear the statement posted on Facebook was intended to bully Treasurer Stacy Garrity from getting into the race for Governor, but we know Stacy as a decorated U.S. Army combat veteran who doesn’t scare easily and doesn’t back down,” the state Senate GOP women said in the statement.

Ward, in an interview, went further: Boyer’s harsh comments were sexist and would not have been used against U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., if he was still considering a run for governor. (Meuser announced earlier this month he would not run for governor, after months of considering getting into the race and the promise of an endorsement from President Donald Trump.)

“You know, you hate to use that, ‘gender,’” Ward said. “But this obviously is. He didn’t go after Congressman Meuser like he went after state Treasurer Garrity.”

Boyer rejected Ward’s claim, adding that his record supporting female candidates “speaks for itself,” such as his support for Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and House Speaker Joanna McClinton, a Philadelphia Democrat. He invited Ward to call him to have a conversation, “in a very collegial manner, as our relationship has always been,” he said.

Both Parker and McClinton released individual statements in support of Boyer. In Parker’s statement, she said she would not be the city’s first female mayor if not for Boyer’s support, and she admires his unending advocacy for members of Philadelphia’s trade unions.

The early brouhaha before Garrity even officially enters the race sets the stage for a messy gubernatorial election, where Shapiro’s allies are making their loyalty known to him while the Pennsylvania GOP hopes to take a better swing at the unusually popular first-term governor. Meanwhile, Shapiro will hope to deliver for down-ballot Democrats, in hopes of flipping several of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts, including the two seats that Republicans flipped in 2024.

Shapiro has not announced his own reelection campaign yet but appeared at a fundraiser in Nantucket, Massachusetts, this weekend, where tickets cost from $1,000 to $10,000, according to a flier for the event.

The statement from the Senate GOP women came together after Boyer’s statement was shared in a group chat among them. Ward said reading the statement made her blood pressure shoot up, adding that Shapiro should not accept one of his allies speaking about Garrity in this way before she even enters the race.

“They’re terrified of getting a candidate that they’re going to have to actually run a race,” Ward added, in reference to the 2022 election, where Shapiro won by nearly 15 percentage points over far-right state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Franklin Republican. Mastriano, for his part, is still considering running for governor again in 2026, and hopes to team up with Garrity in some way.

But Boyer said his statement was not about Garrity’s gender, or fear. This is how he plays the political game and defends leaders who support Philly’s building trades unions.

“There is no fear,” Boyer said. “I play full-throated politics. When I believe in someone, I believe in them. And I believe in Josh Shapiro.”

Boyer said he put out his statement because he wanted to tell Garrity up front that she would not be able to get the building trades’ endorsement again. And, he claimed, because she went back on her word.

Garrity “made assurances” to other members of the building trades, when asked during the 2024 endorsement process for her treasurer bid, that she was not planning to run for governor, Boyer claimed.

“When you tell me something you said you’re not going to do and then you do it, in North Philly, we call that a lie. I don’t know what they call that in Harrisburg,” Boyer added, noting that she made these comments to other members of the building trades and not directly to him.

A spokesperson for Garrity rejected Boyer’s claim, and the people Garrity allegedly made these promises to could not be reached for comment Friday.

“That is blatantly false and interesting coming from someone who was singing her praises not too long ago,” said Brittany Yanick, a spokesperson for Garrity, in reference to Boyer’s previous comments in an endorsement of Garrity in September 2024, in which he called her “the real deal.”

Garrity would still need to formally secure the Pennsylvania GOP endorsement, which the state party plans to decide in September, and win the primary election next spring, depending if Mastriano or other contenders jump in the race. Top members of the state GOP and county chairs have publicly supported Garrity, and she is the favorite going into any state party endorsement convention.

Garrity was reelected to a second term as the state’s top fiscal watchdog in November with 3.5 million votes, the highest total in Pennsylvania history for a state-level candidate, breaking a record previously held by Shapiro.

Shapiro did Garrity a favor last year when he decided not to endorse in the treasurer’s race. Democratic nominee Erin McLelland had publicly criticized Shapiro while he was up for consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Shapiro’s choice not to endorse opened the door for labor unions and other Democratic groups that usually would not support a GOP candidate to endorse Garrity.

Garrity herself has been complimentary to Shapiro over the years for their good working relationship, a tone that has shifted drastically in recent weeks as she gets closer to announcing a bid for governor.