Let’s jump 12 minutes into this stream, where he’s about to start a speech that hits on all the common themes in his broadcasts.

Right now he’s thanking people who have donated to his campaign.

Watch how he talks to them, addressing them by name. It’s like they’re right there in the room with him.

I actually counted and he mentions 68 unique names in this livestream alone.

Here are some actual comments from the livestream.

Here’s just a few of his shout-outs from this same video.

I spoke to Paul Elliott Johnson about this, a University of Pittsburgh professor who wrote a 2021 book on the rhetoric of conservative populism in the U.S.

There’s a sense of intimacy between Sen. Mastriano and his followers. Call it a parasocial relationship, the kind that’s become popular in these extremely online times.

You can have a parasocial relationship with a reality TV star or an influencer. You feel like you know them, but it’s one-sided. They don’t know you.

That’s mostly the case with Mastriano’s followers, like it is with all politicians. They can’t know everyone. But in these videos, it doesn’t feel that way.

Now Mastriano’s thanking people for donating again. It tracks with his fund-raising style: During the primary, we reported that he was the king of small-dollar individual donors.

Right now he’s still pulling in those small contributions, though he’s getting financially crushed by his competitor Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor who’s raised more than $8 for every $1 that Mastriano raised, our coworkers recently reported.

Naming everyone who’s given money helps incentivize others to donate, Mary E. Stuckey told me. She’s a Penn State University professor who specializes in political communication.

Now, he’s gonna talk about being “maligned.” He uses that word a lot in these videos, basically saying that he’s been a victim of “baseless attacks,” that he’s being oppressed.

That’s a common theme among American conservatives. Think of the folks who are fighting against the teaching of diversity and inclusion curriculum. They say it’s not fair to white children.

Or how mask mandates were oppressive to personal liberty.

Or how Trump said the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Here’s a few of the ways Mastriano talks about being persecuted on his streams.

Prof. Stuckey told me this messaging is highly strategic.

Let’s get back to the main thread. Now, Mastriano’s using a lot of Christian nationalism talking points.

He’s the embodiment of this ideology. Its followers want to see American civic life – stuff like education and public policy – fused with Christianity.

They also believe the country is under threat. Christian values are being eroded.

But you won’t hear the words “Christian nationalism” in these videos.

Yeah, he’s denied being a proponent of Christian nationalism though I’ve spoken to several experts who study it and say he ticks all the boxes.

Like how he frames himself as the one who knows God’s will. He and his followers, they’re the ones on the side of righteousness – as opposed to anyone who’s against him.

He just said he would hand over his opponents to God.

And he’ll say something similar later, about God turning the tables on the Democrats. Prof. Stuckey said that kind of language is particularly dangerous.

Now he’s citing a biblical verse from the Book of Proverbs.

He’s very willing to use the Bible for political purposes, which a lot of politicians are, but it’s especially effective when it comes to getting folks on board with Christian nationalism.

It’s like he’s speaking their language.

These are some of the other verses that come up a lot in his streams.

I spoke to Andrew Whitehead about this, he’s an Indiana University professor who cowrote a 2020 book on Christian nationalism called Taking America Back for God.* *

One example of that is Esther. He’s always talking about her. That’s coming up in the video soon.

Yeah, he often references our “Esther moment,” in his public appearances, too. She was a biblical Jewish queen who saved her people from destruction – they were under threat from the Persians.

OK, back to the main video again. Mastriano’s now bringing up that he’s a veteran, which he does all the time in these videos. And he is a career military officer who spent half his life in the Army.

Right, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Retired as a colonel. I’ll say it’s not that surprising for him to keep bringing that up because candidates know military service plays well with certains kinds of voters.

But what is striking is how violence plays a role in Christian nationalism. It’s another thing Prof. Whitehead told me about.

It’s kinda wild how these videos are pretty … chill? Mastriano isn’t yelling or gesturing wildly, he’s calm and friendly. Like he’s just some dude in his basement.

The four experts I spoke to, they all brought this up. Anthony Nadler and Doron Taussig are both professors at Ursinus College who study conservative news and political communication.

At the same time, he does express all sorts of views – from the fringe to the extreme. Here are some examples.

Yeah, let’s remember that he thinks the 2020 election was stolen, he bused his supporters to the Capitol on Jan. 6, he spoke at an event where the organizers played a video saying that we were experiencing a reckoning that would reveal a “global satanic blood cult.”

It’s just that it’s couched in his unassuming demeanor. Here’s what Prof. Taussig said about that.

On that note, Mastriano’s about to mention his stance on abortion, real lowkey. He supports an effective ban on abortions. He’s gonna reference “Rights for men and women, including those in the womb.”

Mastriano’s gonna finish this whole speech with his campaign slogan – “Walk as free people” – which comes from the Bible. He weaves it seamlessly into his streams.

Mastriano barely does these fireside chats anymore – compared to the primary, when he was doing them multiple times a week.

But we thought it was important to focus on them in part because it's one of the few ways for us to get access to him.

He’s refused to speak to The Inquirer and other mainstream news outlets.

We’ll see if his social media strategy pays off next month in the general. Follow along with our colleagues’ reporting here.