Doug Mastriano is holding his first public campaign event in Philly on Friday. Several protests are planned.

State Sen. Doug Mastriano is making his first public stop in Philadelphia on Friday to meet with Latino business owners and pitch his ultraconservative candidacy in the state’s most Democratic city.

Democratic lawmakers and political groups opposing Mastriano have said they will protest outside the venue in North Philadelphia.

The event, dubbed Philadelphia’s 1st Hispanic Town Hall, is hosted by the Small Business Union, a nonprofit business league that supports commerce in the area. The group’s founder, Fernando Suarez, said Mastriano’s campaign approached him about hosting something and he agreed — with some hesitation.

“They were asking for a Republican business owner to stick their neck out in the city of Philadelphia,” Suarez said. “Sticking out your neck as a Republican is like your death wish, but I put my hand out.”

Suarez said about 15 pastors along with small-businesses leaders in the area plan to come and ask Mastriano questions. The event is free, but attendees had the option to donate $200 to Mastriano’s campaign for a VIP ticket.

Suarez described the gathering in Revolutionary War terms. “Small businesses are getting together and uniting because they’re not being heard, not being served and that hasn’t really happened since 1776 when the colonial businesses got together and said, ‘What do we do about this tyranny?’”

He said that like the gathering nearly 250 years ago, “We will pray. We’ll ask God, ‘What should we do next?’ Because we’re sick and tired of 70 years of corruption happening throughout the city.”

The event is being held at 10:30 a.m. at Deja Vu Social Club at 519 W. Erie Ave.

Mastriano’s Philadelphia appearance follows a slew of bad news for his campaign in recent days, as strategists and GOP operatives have started questioning his chances, given a widening gap in the polls and little money, and some news organizations have pre-written his campaign obit.

At least three Democratic groups — and supporters of Democratic nominee Josh Shapiro — have said they will protest the town hall at Fifth and Erie.

“Tomorrow, Doug Mastriano’s ‘No Comment Express’ will come to Philadelphia as his flailing campaign is under fire for his toxic extremism and dangerous agenda,” Shapiro’s campaign said in a statement.

Former City Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez said small businesses in her community “are being used as a prop for a photo op for people who don’t care about them, who are anti-immigration, antifamily reunification, who want more border walls. How does any immigrant business owner sit in a room and listen to a person that has spread hatred toward everything that person represents? I’m so angry at it.”

Mastriano’s campaign, which rarely responds to media inquiries, did not respond to a request for comment. The campaign is allowing press into Friday’s event, though, with 40 days until Election Day.

Mastriano’s outreach to Latino voters isn’t all that surprising. The Republican Party has continued to make inroads with Latino voters, a trend accelerated by former President Donald Trump. And Latinos in the state have frequently lamented a lack of political engagement in their communities from Democrats running for office.

“We can’t close our eyes to the reality that in the Latino community there were quite a bit of Trump voters,” Quiñones-Sánchez said. “Latinos do tend to be more conservative, particularly on the religious side.”

State Rep. Danilo Burgos, who represents the neighborhood in Harrisburg, called Mastriano “desperate,” but said Democrats should be “engaged to fight for every vote.”

“He’s doing what Trump did during his campaign and as we all learned, it does resonate with people,” Burgos said of Mastriano. “People who feel they haven’t been heard or feel they’re not part of the process. It’s on all of us to make them feel involved in the democratic process.”

Quiñones-Sánchez and Burgos said Shapiro visited the neighborhood twice over the summer. On Friday he is scheduled to be at an event with Latino voters in Allentown.

Suarez, of the Small Business Union, said Shapiro’s campaign had not reached out to his group and that he had no plans to invite Shapiro for a similar meeting. He said in 35 years in business in the city, he’s never felt supported by Democratic leadership, which he associates with candidates up and down the ballot.

“I would not call and Shapiro’s campaign would never approach me,” he said. “I know how this city works. They don’t care about small businesses.”