Josh Shapiro raises money warning of Donald Trump’s ads (which don’t even mention Doug Mastriano)

Josh Shapiro won’t let an evocative political bogeyman go to waste.

Pennsylvania’s attorney general and Democratic nominee for governor started fund-raising late last week on the specter of former President Donald Trump’s plans “to spend big on TV ads right here” in the state.

It’s true — Trump, with $93 million in his political action committee as of Aug. 31, has authorized a new PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., to air television ads seeking to influence the Nov. 8 midterm election.

But that spending in Pennsylvania, $828,940 as of this week, is dedicated to attacking only the Democratic nominee for Senate, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, on behalf of the Republican nominee, Mehmet Oz.

Trump endorsed Oz and the Republican nominee for governor, State Sen. Doug Mastriano, just before the May primary. But Trump and his allies are not, as of now, spending a dime to help Mastriano.

Shapiro has his own allies joining in. His email to supporters, citing Mastriano’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania, was also sent to the email lists for three progressive groups, Common Good Virginia, The Majority Rules, and Democracy Defense Fund, along with the Western Pennsylvania congressional campaigns of Democrats Chris Deluzio and Summer Lee.

Those joint-efforts split any donations: half to Shapiro, half to the groups or candidates.

Democracy Defense Fund was founded by Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, who sent her own email Monday to Shapiro’s supporters, warning that her uncle has thrown his “full support behind one of the most extreme candidates for governor in the entire country.”

A spokesperson for MAGA Inc., which is also airing ads for Senate races in Arizona, Georgia and Ohio, did not respond when asked about the lack of support for Mastriano.

Clout provides often irreverent news and analysis about people, power, and politics.