Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a Republican seeking to defeat Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) in 2026, released a 90-second video that cryptically says she has enough dirt on the sitting governor to defeat him.
The advertisement, which looks more like a streaming series trailer than a traditional campaign spot, follows a mysterious female figure moving through a dark, stylized version of Pennsylvania’s underworld, flipping through documents and pulling digital files as ominous music swells in the background.
The advertisement, called Twilight Justice, shows the woman riding a bike, face covered, getting on the subway, going into her apartment, and locking the doors.
She says, “You will never know my name or ever see my face. I always hide in the shadows. It’s the only way I can stay safe from retaliation.”
She goes on to ask, “Why? I expose terrible lies. I unmask the corrupt, and I make it available for all to see.”
The narrator then says, “My latest target? Let’s just say for one politician, it’s time to buckle up, sir. Go ahead, underestimate me. It’s amazing what you can learn when you hide in the shadows.”
Throughout the video, images of Shapiro flash on screen, or his name appears.
It ends with the words “Twilight Justice [streaming early 2026].”
Garrity campaign media consultant John Brabender said he was inspired to give the campaign advertisement an eerie vibe after the Hulu docuseries, “Death in Apartment 603: What Happened to Ellen Greenberg,” which investigates the controversial death of a 27-year-old Pennsylvania woman that was ruled a suicide. Shapiro received criticism for his handling of the Greenberg case while attorney general, but he has long defended his actions.
Greenberg, who was an elementary school teacher, was found dead in her Philadelphia home in 2011 with 20 stab wounds from a large knife.
The medical examiner initially ruled it was a suicide, a ruling Greenberg’s parents dispute to this day. They believe she was murdered and said the state should have looked more closely at the evidence, which included bruises as well as the location of her stab wounds. They have spent years trying to change the cause of death and force an investigation into what they believe was the murder of their daughter. The Greenbergs have a lawsuit pending before the state Supreme Court, aiming to overturn the suicide ruling.
When Shapiro was the state’s attorney general, his office reviewed the case, and a lower court judge acknowledged that the investigation was “deeply flawed.” However, the cause of death was not overturned, and critics have continued to comb through Shapiro’s time as state attorney general.
The series Brabender is producing for Garrity’s campaign will also be available on other social media platforms, including short-form content on Instagram, where most young voters obtain their information these days.
Skipping traditional television spots to focus more on social media is a shift in how campaigns target voters, Fuyuan Shen, head of the Department of Advertising/Public Relations at the Penn State Donald Bellisario College of Communications, told ABC27.
“We’ve definitely seen more ads like stories because of social media,” Shen added. “Oftentimes, that’s mixed with other information that’s difficult to sort out.”
Shapiro, who won his 2022 gubernatorial campaign by double digits, has become Pennsylvania‘s most popular politician by insisting that the government can still deliver for the people. He has a record that backs it up, including cutting bipartisan deals, reducing homelessness, and reopening a collapsed stretch of highway in just 12 days.
Shapiro, who is rumored to be eyeing a White House bid, has surged back into the spotlight, first by pushing back on former Vice President Kamala Harris‘s new book, then by strongly weighing in on the political violence spreading across the country. He has also taken President Donald Trump to task over divisive policies and a sluggish economy while meticulously building a national profile based on results and electability.
Pennsylvania, a critical swing state, is a near necessity for Democrats if they hope to win in 2028. It has the largest electoral prize among the key battleground states, and the last three presidential elections have been decided there by very tight margins. Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016 and 2024, while former President Joe Biden won in 2020. Shapiro was floated as a possible running mate for Harris in 2024, but she ultimately went with Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN). Harris’s 107-day sprint to the White House ended in disaster for Democrats, an outcome the party is eager to avoid repeating.
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However, before Shapiro announces a White House bid, he will have to survive Garrity’s challenge for the governor’s seat in the midterm elections.
An email seeking comment from Shapiro on Garrity’s campaign advertisement was not returned.